Hot Summer Nights
by FSOG FanFic Followers
Summary: A collection of stories to keep you cool and calm over this hot Summer. Eight entries into this fantastic challenge, can you pick a favourite?
1. Chapter 1

Hot Summer Nights Challenge!

Welcome to the FSOG Fanfic Followers Summer Challenge! This season, we asked our members to create a story around the theme "Hot Summer Nights", and boy did they deliver!

We have 8(!) spectacular entries to sink your teeth into. All of varied length and situations to deal with the sweltering heat that comes with Summer. We can't guarantee that you won't need a cold shower after reading but, we can guarantee you'll be begging for more!

 **1\. Forbidden Fruit**

 **2\. Blue Collar Dom**

 **3\. Summer Beach Party**

 **4\. 2,191 Days**

 **5\. Bad Liar**

 **6\. Hot In The City**

 **7\. California Dreamin'**

 **8\. Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast**

Voting will not take place through reviews though! As we did this as a group challenge, to vote you must go to the FSOG Fanfic Followers Group page, become a member and look for the Strawpoll Voting Link.

 **VOTING WILL BE OPEN TILL 11:59PM ON TUESDAY THE 31** **ST** **OF JULY 2018**

While we know in our hearts that all of these fantastic entries are winners, there can only be one! Or maybe two, depends on what you think!

The link to our FB page is on this profile, but if you type in "FSOG Fanfic Followers" into FB, it'll show up there too! Just make sure you answer the question when prompted!

So, get ready and share the love! Leave reviews, let us know what you think!

Laters,

FSOG Fanfic Followers Admin Team


	2. 1 Forbidden Fruit

**Forbidden Fruit**

 _ **Ana and Christian are both young professionals trying to find their way. But will her past encounter with fellow intern Jack prevent them from moving forward? Is it better to deny the chemistry or venture into forbidden territory?**_

* * *

 _You know what? Screw him and his stupid ideas. I'm done. Over it. He deserves what he gets._

"Ana?" It's Kate. "Are you coming tonight? Pretty please?"

Her hopeful tone breaks through my funk and I laugh. She knows that I can't drink, that I am the perfect D.D. "Fine. You know what? I could blow off some steam."

We grin. The last two weeks have been... horrible. _A pressure cooker._

It's late June, and Kate and I have been living in Seattle for six weeks. She has an internship at _The Seattle Times_ , and her boss is hosting a cookout at his beach house. It's only about a fifteen-minute drive from our Montlake bungalow, but definitely several steps up in social status. The beach house is perched overlooking the water, and steps lead from the side yard down to the beach.

We make our way down the steps onto a path that ends at the rocky shore. Huge cooking grates are set up, and the air is filled with the smell of salmon grilling. There are long tables of food, and I set my bowl of homemade pasta salad on one of them. Kate's contribution is a case of beer, and I help her add it to one of the ice-filled tubs. There's a pile of driftwood set up for a fire, with logs for seating placed around it.

Kate introduces me to a few people, then starts doing shots with a guy from the newsroom. I roll my eyes. She's all blonde and curvy, with a tight dress and an outgoing personality. She's in her element, and the guys are like bees to honey. Soon there's a crowd around her, and I am free to fade into the background.

 _How am I supposed to blow off steam without drinking? Who knows._ I head over to one of the logs that are set up around the fire. It's quieter over here, and I pull out my copy of _Tess of the d'Urbervilles_. Like me, she's found herself in a compromising situation. And I'm transported away from the beach and into Tess's world...

A male voice interrupts my reading. "Mind if I sit?"

I look up and he towering over me. Even silhouetted against the sun, I can tell he's tall and muscular...

 _Um, shit. This is not what I need right now. This is the opposite of what I need right now. But what do I say? No, I wanted this log all to myself?  
_  
"Um, no... Go ahead." I scoot over a bit.

He sits, leans forward to see the title of my book, and smirks. "A little light reading?"

 _Um, well... yes. I'm a bookworm, and I can't drink, so..._ I shrug. "My roommate's an intern at _The Times_ and... parties aren't my thing. Books are." And I try to get back to my book, but he's still looking at me. He's intrigued now. _Crap.  
_  
"I'm Christian... Christian Grey. I kind of got dragged here tonight too. My brother's in construction and he just re-built the deck on this house. The guy invited him to come over and grab a beer tonight. It's just supposed to be a quick stop, but…" He gestures over to where a group is still gathered around Kate. _Yep, like bees to honey…_

I nod. Oh I know how it goes. "I'm Ana..."

"Hello, Ana. I'm going to grab a beer. Want one?"

"Um... no thanks. I promised to be the D.D. tonight." He nods and walks over the the ice buckets.

 _I should leave. I should get up and disappear... But what am I going to do? Hide?_

He comes back with a bottle of beer and a can of Diet Coke. "For the D.D."

"Thanks," I say.

He sits quietly for a minute, sipping his beer. _Good. Yes, please lose interest and move on. Believe me, it's for the best.  
_  
"So, are you both new graduates? You said you roommate's an intern?" He asks.

"Yep. From WSU-Vancouver. Um, except I'm at SIP? Seattle Independent Publishing?"

"Ah, publishing… very up and coming…"

I blush. "I'm just an intern."

"Never say 'just' Ana. As long as you're doing what you love, that's all that matters."

"So what about you?"

"I'm 'just' a college drop-out. Harvard." He gives me a megawatt grin, and I can't help but grin back. "But seriously… I'm starting my own company, and I was anxious to get started. I borrowed some seed money from an old friend."

 _Wow, is this guy for real? So he's about my age and starting his own company? Talk about up and coming._ He's incredibly good-looking, but still boyish with his tousled copper hair and wide grin.

Why is he even talking to me? I look about sixteen on a good day. I'm skinny, my brown hair is in braids, and I'm wearing a thermal shirt and overalls. _Overalls!_ So this isn't even a good day...

I pop the top on the Diet Coke, take a drink. Oh, that's good... I love Diet Coke and I haven't had one in... two weeks. I know it's been two weeks. Exactly. I didn't plan for this baby and I haven't decided if I'm keeping it. But, just in case, I'm avoiding alcohol and caffeine.

"Wow," I say, "Your own company? What kind of company?"

He raises one hand and gestures in the air in front of us, like he's putting his name on a skyscraper. "Grey Enterprises Holdings, Incorporated," he says. "GEH. I like recognizing small companies that are in trouble. I want to turn them around and make them profitable again. Or," he shrugs, "if needed, break them up and sell the pieces."

"That sounds kind of ruthless," I say.

"It's a ruthless world, Ana," he says. "It's like a game. There's money to be made, and I want IN."

I laugh. _Oh, I have no doubt that this guy will come out on top._

"So which one's your roommate?"

"The one in the middle," I say, gesturing to the crowd. "Cheerleader."

"Yep." Kate was a legend on campus... head cheerleader, singer of the national anthem at practically every event. She dated like half of the guys at college, and now she's making her way into the Seattle scene like a blonde bulldozer. And I'm the one who's knocked up after one lousy time. One tiny slip in judgment. _Nope, life isn't fair.  
_  
"So are you a cheerleader too?"

I laugh out loud. "Do I look like a college cheerleader? I mean, look at me."

"I am."

 _Oh shit. No, no, no. What is wrong with this guy? This incredibly hot guy..._ Surely there are at least twenty gorgeous, curvy women at this party who would giggle and fawn over him. I mean, I would if I were them. _But I'm not them. And I can't.  
_  
Oh but he's sweet and he's gazing at me with the most intent, smoky gray eyes... Surely I can just talk to the guy? I'm supposed to be here to have a little fun, take the edge off. _There's no harm in that, right?_ And so I do. I drop my guard and tell him about being the tag-along in a cheerleader world. How I have been everything from the water girl to the team tutor. He laughs when I tell him about carrying the giant water jugs - by myself - and I am like 105 pounds dripping wet. And how some people just cannot... CANNOT conjugate a verb to save their lives.

He talks about how he just bought his first company with the seed money from his friend. It's a small shipbuilding yard in Bremerton. He hopes to expand the company into manufacturing custom wooden sailboats.

We both love foreign films. He's travelled all over. _I'd love to travel..._ We talk and talk... and laugh. Oh, where was this guy two months ago? I could have avoided stupid Jack Hyde and all this. _If I'd had a boyfriend already when I started working at SIP. If I hadn't gone for drinks with him that first Friday night…_

Then he does it. Christian reaches over and skims my bottom lip with his thumb. _He's going to... Please don't...  
_  
I jump back. I actually jump. _Sorry!_ "Um, sorry..." I say. "I'm sorry. I'm just going to use the restroom. Do you want another beer?"

"Sure," he says, pulling back and looking wary. "Thanks."

 _Oh you'll thank me later. Believe me. And I'm sorry. Really, really sorry._

I go over and pick my way through the group surrounding Kate, tell her I'm not feeling well, and make her promise to call me for a ride or get a cab. Then I find her friend from the newsroom. _She introduced us earlier… his name is… Mike! That's it._

"Um, Mike?" I say, grabbing a beer from the ice bucket. "See that guy over there? Can you wait a few minutes, then give him this beer? Say it's from Ana?"

He looks a little puzzled, then shrugs and nods.

And that's it... I'm gone. I hightail it to the car and I'm out of there.

* * *

 **2 months later...**

It's the first weekend in September and we are having a heat wave. In Seattle. It's ninety degrees, and I am on a chaise on the front porch trying to catch a breeze. Kate's parents bought her this little bungalow when she graduated and moved here to Seattle in May. We've been living with another roommate, Mallory, but now she's moving in with her boyfriend.

Mallory is one of Kate's cheerleading friends, and she and I have never been close. O _kay, she's pretty much a bitch._ I am right in the middle of a good book, so I am only vaguely aware of what's going on around me. Mallory's boyfriend and a couple of other guys are trudging back and forth across the porch, lugging her stuff to a waiting U-Haul.

Then a set of footsteps stops suddenly, right by where I'm sitting. I look up and... _Oh shit_. It's him. Christian. Oh no, no, no. It's hot and I am completely exposed here. I am only wearing a tank top and shorts and under my tank top is my very noticeable belly. Shit! Why can't it be cold enough for a blanket? Even a nice, baggy flannel shirt?

"Ana." He says, surprise and shock registering in his voice.

"Hi Christian..." Crap! I left the guy hanging... totally ditched him. What do I say? "So you're helping Mallory move?"

"Yeah... she's moving in with one of my roommates." He pauses. "Small world, huh?"

Yep, and getting smaller... I just smile and nod. I don't know what else to say.

"Well," he says, "better get back to it."

The next hour is torture. They continue to walk back and forth. And I pretend to read. Maybe I can sneak inside? No, I'll just pass him on the stairs. Ugh! I bend the knee on my leg closest to them, try to position my book over my bump. But I know it's too late. He saw. I hear them finishing up, clinking bottles of beer in the living room.

And then they all leave, shouting good-byes, getting in their cars and the U-Haul. Except one. He comes back up onto the porch, walks over to my chaise.

"Can I join you?"

 _Is he serious?_ This guy is a glutton for punishment.

"No... go ahead." I say and bend my other knee up, so he has room at the foot of the chaise.

"So," He says, "What's been up with you?"

I laugh. Seriously?! "If I said 'not much' would you believe me?"

Now he laughs. "No, probably not." Then, "You totally ditched me at that party."

 _Oh I know... and now you can guess why._ "I know," I say, "I freaked out a little. I was going through a rough time. I just... couldn't."

He gives me a sad smile. "I didn't stop thinking about you... for weeks. I can't explain it," he shrugs. "And just when I think it wasn't meant to be… Well, here you are."

I don't even know what to say. I've been thinking about him too. All the _what ifs..._ "I'm sorry," I say. "Really." _Okay, now GO. Go get on with your life.  
_  
"Are you still with him?" He asks.

Who? Oh... "No."

"Let's go for a walk."

Um, is he serious? Really... just go. It's for your own good. Please just... but instead I say, "Okay. Let me go find some shoes."

I get up quickly, kind of shielding myself with my book, and head inside. _Crap! What am I doing?_ I dash upstairs and grab my Chucks. And I need some sort of... Why isn't it parka weather? I grab a sleeveless gray hoodie. It's not great, but it will have to do. I pull out my hair tie and comb through my hair quickly, put it back up, smooth my bangs to one side. I throw my phone and keys into the hoodie pockets and scurry back downstairs. _Maybe he came to his senses and left... Nope. He's still there, in living color, on my porch._

He stands. "Ready?"

Um, no. "Yep."

I lock up and we walk in silence the few blocks to the waterfront. It's low tide, the pebbled beach strewn with seaweed and driftwood.

We walk along the shore, both lost in our own thoughts, to the point. We make our way out on the boulders and finally sit - looking out at the water.

"So," he says, "I barely touched you, and I show up months later... to find this." He gestures to my belly.

I laugh out loud. Hard. I can't help it. _What is it with this guy and his sense of humor that can defuse any situation?  
_  
I catch my breath, smile at him. "And I enjoyed it... really. But even you aren't… that talented."

He smiles back, just waits.

I sober. "I had just broken up with him, my 'boyfriend' earlier that day." I shrug. "He and I had very different ideas about how to handle the... situation."

He's still sitting quietly, waiting for me to finish.

"We weren't really together. It was just a one-time thing, after too many beers. I had just started my new job, my adult life. I wanted to fit in… Anyway, afterwards the - um, situation - kind of forced us together for a couple of weeks. But then I dumped him." I grin.

"Not good enough for you?"

"Nope. Not by a long shot."

We sit quietly for a few minutes.

"So you weren't... up for it. That night. I guess I get it."

"I wanted to be. I wish I had met you a couple of months earlier. That's for sure."

After another minute, he asks, "So what's it like... being... you know..."

"Pregnant?"

He nods.

I just look at him... considering the question.

"Sorry... I shouldn't have asked you that. It's too personal."

"No," I say quickly, "it's... I don't know... weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah. I mean, like I'm supposed to be all emotional or super dramatic or have strange cravings... but I don't. I just feel like... myself. Well, a freaked out, ever-expanding version of myself anyway." I grin.

He laughs, "Freaked out? Yeah I guess I would be freaked out too. So how long, I mean... when?"

"I'm about four months, so mid-February?"

He's quiet again. _Okay, so... change of subject. Please!  
_  
"Did you grow up around here?" He asks.

I tell him about growing up in Montesano with my step-father, Ray. That he's amazing and has always been there for me, even after my mother left to chase after her romantic ideals. She seems to be settled in with husband number four in Savannah, at least for now. I tell him how Kate and I were paired randomly as freshmen at WSU-V, and we've been living together ever since.

Christian tells me about growing up in Bellevue. He was adopted at age four, and since then has led the stereotypical upper-middle class lifestyle. His father is a lawyer and his mother is a doctor. He has two siblings, Elliot and Mia, who were also adopted.

His father, Carrick, instilled a love of the outdoors in his children. "I was thinking of taking off for a few days," he says. "Maybe hike some of the Pacific Crest Trail. It's my happy place."

I smile. "That sounds amazing."

"So what does your family think about... you know..."

I sigh. "My mom thinks I should have… ended it. She thinks I need to be young and single, focus on my career, find romance. She was the same age as me - twenty-one - when she got pregnant. She married my dad, but I'm not sure that's what she really wanted. Anyway, he was in the service and was killed in a training accident right after I was born. We were living at Fort Lewis, and my father's friend - Ray - took over caring for us. She married him too, but I'm not sure she ever loved him. And I can't help but wonder if… if she had to do it over again…" I shrug. I can't go there.

"And your step-father?"

"Ray's… I don't know. Disappointed? I mean, he's pissed at the situation, but not at me. He's supportive of whatever I decide."

"Which is?"

I shrug, "I haven't decided yet."

"And the father? Was he at college with you?"

"No, he worked at SIP. He was another intern."

"Was?"

"Jack had been there for almost a year already, and I guess he was… working his way through the female staff? And videotaping them… I mean, us." I blush. "Anyway, the day of the party? After I broke up with him, I turned him in."

"Wow, that took guts. So what happened to him?"

"His daddy is well-connected, and he bailed him out. They wanted to pay me off, keep me quiet. But in the end, I decided that he'd just keep hurting more women."

"So is he in jail?"

"No, worse. He's with about twenty other guys on one of daddy's fishing boats in Alaska. I think he'll be there awhile…" I laugh. "What about you? I'm sure you've had your share of girlfriends."

He sobers. "I haven't really done the girlfriend thing. My 'friend' who gave me the seed money? We were… together until recently. She was older and… more experienced. When we ended things, she wanted to set me up with some acquaintances of hers. And I've been holding back. I think I was waiting for something… different."

"So you were together, but she wasn't your girlfriend?"

"No. I had a rough start in life. Before I was adopted? And she gave me a… physical outlet."

Hmm… okay. I'm confused, but I can tell he's done talking. For now. He's staring off into the water, deep in his past.

"Okay," I say, breaking the spell. "Let's walk back."

We're quiet again on the walk back. I can't believe we said all that to each other! I don't even want to know what he's thinking. He probably can't wait to get back to his car.

When we get to the porch, I say, "Well thanks for the... walk." He's not budging. _Okay, go to your car now.  
_  
He's not leaving, he's leaning in. _Oh shit._ He cups the back of my neck with his hand, then skims his fingers along my jaw. I want to bolt. Again.

He gauges my expression, the tension in my body. "Don't run," he whispers.

I let out the breath I'm holding, turn and unlock the door, open it. "You coming or going?" I ask.

He just grins - a gorgeous ear-splitting smile - and follows me inside. _Oh my. This is going to be interesting._

I go use the bathroom, offer to make us sandwiches, tell him to help himself to the leftover beers.

It's about 1:30 when we settle in at the dining room table with our turkey sandwiches. He's looking around the room, at our bookshelves and knick-knacks. Then his eyes settle in one spot and he smiles. I turn and look. _Scrabble.  
_  
"You play?" He asks.

"Christian, I don't 'play' _Scrabble_. I take it very seriously." Yep, that's a threat... and an invitation.

He smiles again, gets up and retrieves the game. We play and he's... not bad. He's actually a decent player. But, in the end, I whip him. Badly. I finish him off when I get the 'J' on the double letter, triple word score. I sit back and grin. " _2013 Northwest Teen Scrabble Champion,_ " I boast.

"Impressive," He says. Then he gets up, comes and leans over me. He pauses for just a moment before I am scooped up and placed on his lap, facing him.

This time, he's not taking any of my shit. He grabs my wrists with one hand, restraining me. And the other hand grips my chin, pulls me in. And I give up. _Right or wrong, I'm only human._ And I melt - we melt - joining together until we are just lips and limbs and sensation... I can feel my belly pressing against him, and I know he must feel it too. But mostly what I feel is... electricity. It snaps between us and the sparks fly.

I can feel him stir and harden beneath me. Ah! I flex my hips and grind against him. Mmmm…. it feels so… Abruptly he grasps my hips, sits up, slides me off his lap. He looks a little... guilty. He clears his throat. "What are you doing to me? I'm not sure I should be... Is this even okay?"

I sit in the chair next to him, chin on my hands. "I could say the same. But I don't know. I feel like I should tell you to go, save yourself. But…"

"But what?"

I shrug. "But I don't want to."

We just sit for a minute. "It's quiet," he says. "Don't you have roommates?"

"Yes, well one less as of today. Now it's just me and Kate. And she left this morning on a trip to Barbados with her family." Kate _would_ get to take a vacation after only working for six weeks. But her father is an entertainment industry mogul, and he has connections.

"So you're staying here all alone."

I shrug. "Yep, until next Sunday."

He smiles again. And this time it's mischievous... his eyes are twinkling. _Yep, we are all alone here. No one to know, no one to judge. Oh boy.  
_  
It's now three o'clock. Oh, that turkey sandwich is making me sleepy. I could take a nap… with Christian. NO. "Want to watch a movie?" I ask. I know we both like foreign films, and I have a decent collection. _Okay, I have an excellent collection._ I have over three hundred foreign books and films culled from library sales and used bookstores over the years.

I lead him over to the cabinet in the living room, open it, and hear his sharp intake of breath. "Oh wow... you have... and..." He skims his finger along the titles, finally pulling out one of my favorites. It's the original Italian version of _Il Postino: The Postman._

I grin and pop it in and we settle into the leather couch. Kate's mom redecorates every couple of years, so we always have really nice cast-offs. It's cool in here, the air-conditioner blasting away, so I grab a blanket, relieved to cover myself. I just want to look - and feel - normal for awhile.

We sit side by side, watching, but I know he's planning his next move. And the anticipation is making my body hum. _Oh he knows it. It's rolling off me in waves._

Finally he yawns dramatically and stretches, bringing one arm down around my shoulders.

I giggle. "Nice move... very subtle." I look up at him and his eyes are twinkling, playful. _Okay, I'll play._ "You wanna make out?" I ask.

He chuckles. "What are we, fifteen?"

I shrug. "Whatever. If you don't want to…"

He rolls his eyes, but grins and leans in, again grabbing my wrists in one hand. We kiss and it's wet and sloppy, lots of tongue. When he finally pulls back, my lips are tingling. I lick them, tasting the tang of him in my mouth.

"First base," he whispers, his eyes darkening.

He unzips my hoodie and slides one hand under my tank top, keeping to the side and skimming up my ribs. His fingers slide along my skin, and I can feel goosebumps rise up in their path. I can't move... can't breathe... I can just feel... And his hand reaches my bra, skims across, his thumb on my nipple.

"Ah!" I say, and my hips flex automatically, my insides clench, and desire pools deep in my belly. It radiates all the way down _there_. "Mmm..."

He pulls the fabric of my bra down, traces my areola, and tugs at my nipple. Then he moves to the other side, repeats the process. I can feel his erection at my hip, digging in, eager for more. _Oh, for some reason that I cannot fathom, this beautiful man wants me. Me! Plain old skinny, knocked-up me. And I want him too._

I know he wants to do more, probably with his mouth, but I know he won't. He won't undress me, cross that line. _Not yet anyway..._ Instead, he removes his hand, kisses me again, and pulls back. "Second base." And we grin.

We snuggle in and watch the rest of the movie. I guess he's done running the bases. _For now._

"Let's order some dinner," he says as the credits roll.

 _Okay, so he's not leaving anytime soon._ "Um, Okay," I say.

We order Chinese - way too much Chinese - and he insists on paying for it all. We gorge on spicy Kung Pao chicken, dumplings, fried rice with shrimp. Then we read each other's fortunes, adding 'in bed' to the end of each one, and laugh hysterically.

After dinner, he raids the stash of beer. And we talk and laugh and talk some more. I gather up the take-out containers and put them in the kitchen trash, check the time. Ten-thirty. _Is he going to stay or go? The rational part of me thinks he should GO. The rest of me? It says definitely NOT.  
_  
He comes in, bringing the rest of the trash. "It's getting late," he says softly.

"Yep," I say, "it's almost my bedtime."

 _Please say you'd better go..._

 _Please say you don't want to go.  
_  
"Do you want me to go?"

"No." _Anastasia Steele! Fuck.  
_  
 _Hmm, now what?_ "Want to sit outside? In the back?"

He grabs another beer, and I fix myself a glass of ice water. We settle into a pair of Adirondack chairs on the tiny patio. The heat from the day is still radiating off the concrete slab and the warmth presses in around us. It feels cozy. And safe.

I lay my head back, shut my eyes. We just sit quietly, listening to the city around us. He reaches out after a bit, takes my hand.

"Mmm," I sigh, opening my eyes and turning to look at him.

"Still awake?"

I stifle a yawn. "Yes."

"Can I tell you something?"

"I've never slept with a woman before."

What? He can't be serious. "What about…"

He interrupts, shaking his head. "We didn't sleep together. We just fucked. Hard."

 _Ohh._

"I told you that I had a rough start in life, and I couldn't bear to be touched. I still can't… not on my chest or back. And I don't like to take off my shirt. For anyone."

He considers my expression and I try to remain impassive, let him finish.

"So this is new… and a little scary. So maybe we can - you know - respect each other's boundaries? Only do what we're comfortable with?"

I nod. Yep, I definitely have my own limitations. _And I should stick to them._ This can only go so far… "Yeah I think that we shouldn't - you know - because of…" and I gesture to my belly. "And also, Jack was my - um - first? And, not that I have anything to compare it to, but…" I wrinkle my nose, "it was very quick and… not great. You know, _coitus interruptus_?"

Now it's his turn to nod. "We don't have to do anything we don't want to do. You know that, right?"

I look at him. "I'd never do anything I didn't want to do."

We stand and make our way through the house. I turn off the lights, check the locks.

And then I lead him upstairs to my room. It's all white wicker furniture, with a blue and white quilt. It's girly and peaceful... _or it was_. He looms large in my space, checking out my walls of books, my framed photos. There's no air conditioning up here, and it's warm. I reach up and pull the cord to turn on my ceiling fan.

I grab a black camisole and sleep shorts. "Be right back," I say and head into my en-suite bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror. _Shit, am I doing this? Okay, we'll just sleep... clothes stay on. Right?  
_  
I use the bathroom, change quickly, brush my teeth. While he uses the bathroom, I get into bed. I stretch my back out, try to relax. But my breathing is quick, my heart hammering in my chest.

He comes back in, just in his t-shirt and boxer briefs. _Oh God_ … He slides in beside me. I turn so he can spoon me, and I snuggle in. "Just breathe, Ana," he whispers.

I can smell mint on his breath. _Wait a minute…_ "Did you brush your teeth?"

I can feel him chuckle against my back. "I used your toothbrush," he says. "Now sleep."

And I do. Wrapped in his arms, with the day's events swirling through my head, I do.

I wake to a bright Seattle morning, with the sunshine streaming in. And I'm warm. I'm really warm. This blanket is so heavy… and, oh, memories of yesterday come rushing in. It's not a blanket, it's Christian. Christian Grey is in my bed. He's in my bed and _on_ _me_. One arm is under my neck, the other across my chest. His legs are entwined with mine and they're heavy. And sweaty. We are one big, sweaty tangle of limbs.

I don't want to wake him, but the heat is unbearable and I have to pee. Badly. I try to shift just a little. Ugh, he's so heavy… and I feel him stretch against me. Mmm… well one part of him is definitely awake. I can feel _it_ pushing into my backside as he moves.

He moves his hand from my chest to my hair, smoothing it back from my damp forehead. "Good morning, beautiful," he says softly. Then, "Jeez, Ana, you're burning up. Are you okay?"

"Yes, just… really warm. And I need to pee. Can you… please?"

He pulls away from me, disentangling himself. And I quickly scoot off the bed and into the bathroom. After relieving myself, I check out my reflection. I am flushed and sweaty, and my hair is definitely not having a good morning. I scoop it up into a ponytail, then splash my face and neck with cool water. _Better._

I head back into the bedroom and there he is. All tousel-haired and yummy, propped up against my iron headboard. I crawl up onto the bed and straddle his legs. "Talk about 'good morning beautiful,'" I say, then lean forward. He tenses and I stop, remembering that he doesn't like to be touched on the chest. I give a little nod, and grip the iron bars on either side of his head. He smiles, and I lean in for my kiss. This time, it's soft and sweet and slow as we explore each other. Something in me clicks and turns over. I'm falling for him. Hard. _Oh, what have I done?_

...

In the end, Christian doesn't go on his hike. He goes home to get a few things, then spends the rest of the Labor Day weekend with me. We cook together, watch more foreign films, lie in the hammock, and just have a relaxing and lazy weekend. On Monday morning, we get up early to beat the heat, and drive up to Snoqualomie Pass, taking Christian's sleek Audi S5 convertible. After I slide into the low car, he hands me pair of Ray-Bans and a Mariners baseball cap. _Yes!_

Christian takes the Denny Creek exit off of I-90 and parks at the Franklin Falls trailhead. "Oh!" I say, "I've been here with Ray, but it's been years."

"It's one of my favorites," he says. "It's a good hike for a hot day." He grabs his day pack and we start up the trail. It's steep, with some switchbacks, as it winds up Snoqualomie Mountain. I have to stop and catch my breath a few times, but I do okay. Christian patiently waits for me, giving me time to drink some water and rest. By the time we reach the outcropping with the falls, the temperature is over ninety degrees. Christian takes my hand and leads me across the mossy boulders to the little ledge behind the falls. The mist from the rushing water feels amazing and cools us right off.

I reach out, cupping water in my hands, and splash it on my face. When I look up again, Christian's watching me, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

He doesn't say anything, just keeps eyeing me.

What? I look down and my white t-shirt is now almost completely see-through. Ohh… and it's clinging to me. My red lacy bra, my now-chilled nipples… everything. "Oh!" I squeal, wrapping my arms around myself. "Maybe white wasn't the best choice today."

"Oh, I think it was," he growls, and then pulls me in, kissing me long and hard. He keeps one hand on my chin, but the other travels down… over my bra, across my nipple, tracing my ribcage down my side. He rests his hand on my hip, then stops and pulls back, looks at me.

"It's okay," I whisper.

Very slowly, he brings his hand forward and lightly skims it across my belly. Then he cups it with his hand. "It's so firm," he whispers. "Mmm… and so sexy."

I pull him in for another kiss. "Okay," I say, "You need to feed me now."

We've packed a blanket and a picnic in Christian's day pack, and we settle on the blanket in the meadow and dig in. Chicken salad on croissants, sweet red grapes, fudgy brownies with walnuts, and sparkling water. Oh, I'm famished and it's all delicious. After polishing off every bit of food, we lie back and stretch out, letting our clothes dry in the sun.

I put my arm over my eyes to block out the sun, and I'm suddenly so sleepy. The hike, the food, the breeze, the sunshine…. I'm starting to drift when he asks, "So can you feel it?"

Feel what? He's not even touching me. Ohh… "A little, just in the last week or so. And you know what it feels like? Gas bubbles." I uncover my eyes and look over at him.

He's smirking, of course. But then he sobers, sits up. "So what do you think you're going to do? You know, after?"

I sit up too, my knees touching his. "I don't know." I say softly. "Obviously I didn't go for option A. Option B… adoption? Maybe that's the best. For everyone involved. But I don't know if I'm brave enough." Tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

"And option C?"

"I raise it as a twenty-two year old single mother. So how do I choose? My child or my youth?" I can feel a tear escape and slide down my cheek.

Christian pulls me in, wipes away my tear with his thumb. He lies back down, pulling me with him, and I rest my head on his chest. "I'm not even going to begin to tell you what to do," he says softly. "But I want to be with you… whatever you decide. Now sleep, baby."

And I drift,, feeling Christian's breathing and heartbeat, wishing for the hundredth time that he was the father instead of Jack. And I think I feel, more than hear, Christian whisper, "I wish it was mine."

That evening, we grill out on the patio and - like the first two nights - we head up to my bedroom. The upstairs is stifling, the temperature has been building on itself over the past few days. I change into a clean camisole and panties, but they stick to me immediately. Ugh, I am not going to be able to sleep. I look over at Christian, and his gray t-shirt is sweat-stained. Beads of sweat are breaking out on his brow. _Is he thinking what I'm thinking?_ "We could sleep downstairs on the couch… where it's cooler? Or…"

"Or?" He quirks an eyebrow, daring me to finish.

I take a deep breath. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

He nods, almost imperceptibly, but it's enough. And we are peeling off our sweaty clothing, until we are both completely naked. I can't help but soak in the sight of him. God, he's beautiful. His chest is broad and toned, with just a smattering of golden chest hair. And then there's his happy trail that starts just below his six-pack and leads down to his… I blush and look up, meet his eyes.

"You're gorgeous," he says softly. "I could gaze at you all night. Come, get into bed."

I lie down on my back, naked and exposed to him. He slides in next to me, on his side, propped up on one elbow.

He traces one nipple with his fingers, then his tongue. Ah! My hips arch and I can feel my groin starting to swell and pulse with desire. _Ohh…_ He repeats his affections on the other side, inhaling sharply through his teeth as he thrusts against my hip.

I turn my head into his chest, and I can see several round marks. _Are they scars? I can't…_ He catches me looking, and stiffens, then rolls me over so I'm facing away from him. He settles back against me, and his chest hair tickles my back. And down below… I can feel the satiny ridge of his erection pressing against my backside. And he starts to slide it up and down, slowly at first, then picking up the pace.

"Mmmm..." I moan. And I push back against him, the friction building between us. _Oh, I am starting to climb…_ And then his hand is between my thighs, separating my legs... reaching between them, in _there_.

"Okay?" He asks.

"Yes," I say. _Oh, don't stop now._ His finger finds my opening and he thrusts it in, begins to circle. "Mmmm..."

"Oh Ana, you're sopping wet." He murmurs, then "third base." And I giggle. I know he is grinning. He starts to pull back, breaking the contact between us.

 _No, no, no… where is he going?_ "I don't want you to stop," I pant.

"You said before that you didn't want to…"

"That was before. Please don't stop," I beg.

He pauses, considering for a heartbeat - two - then settles back against me.

"Do you want me to get a condom?" He whispers.

Hmm... "No."

And then I feel him position himself. I am so slick and wet... and with a quick thrust, he's in. "Ohhh..." I say.

"Oh baby... you feel so..." He says, and he begins to move... slowly at first, then picking up the pace. "Oh. You. Are. So. Sweet. You. Feel. So. Good." He says with each thrust. He grips my hip with his hand, and I push back... riding him, building quickly, and I take what I need. I take what Jack didn't give me... _Ohh!_ I explode, falling in pieces, down and around us. He thrusts forcefully - twice more - before grunting deep in his throat... coming inside me.

And then we melt, back onto the bed, our breathing and heartbeats in sync. "Home run," he whispers.

 _Holy... that was amazing. Oh, this has been the hottest night of my life._

...

And so Christian stayed with me all week, and we settled into a domestic routine. We both went to work during the day, and spent the evenings and nights together. Slowly, signs of him in my life began to appear. His dress shoes by the door, his laptop on the coffee table, his toothbrush in my bathroom, his tie around my headboard. Okay, well the tie was intentional. _Oh that tie…_ and I rub my wrists just thinking about it.

Most evenings, we cooked together and then curled up on the couch. He worked on his laptop, and I read through a manuscript or two. One evening, we walked to a little fish shack on the beach, feasting on vinegar-soaked fish 'n chips, trying not to burn our mouths and fingers.

As far as the nights, we christened just about every surface in the little bungalow. The kitchen island, where we could go at it missionary-style without holding back, was hands-down our favorite.

 _...  
_

Too soon, it's Sunday evening and almost time for Kate to get back from Barbados. Christian leaves around four o'clock, kissing me warmly and promising me that we'll figure it out. I check the house for evidence of him, then change into my comfiest sweats and crash out on the couch.

A couple of hours later, Kate breezes in - all tan and glowing... bubbling on about booze and coral and white sandy beaches. She had a close encounter with a jellyfish, and she shrieks as she tells me about it, her arms flailing wildly.

Kate's phone starts pinging with all sorts of backlogged messages. It was out of service in Barbados. She starts reading some of them, giving me a summary as she goes. She really is a social butterfly. "Oh here's one from someone I met at the beach party earlier this summer? He was _so cute_ so I gave him my digits… Anyway he was with someone at the time… but they just broke up… Can't get me off his mind…" She giggles and blushes. _Kate's actually blushing! Oh, she must have really liked him too._

We order pizza and eat it straight out of the box, watching crap TV and laughing hysterically.

Finally around 10:00, I uncurl from my nest on the couch, standing to stretch out my aching back. "Okay," I say, "your vacation is officially _over_ … and we both have to work tomorrow."

Kate looks up, checking me out. "Wow, you look even more…"

I cut her off. "I know, Kate." I roll my eyes. _Jeez, she has no filter. But I love her for it.  
_  
"How do you feel? And how's your job? I feel bad about leaving you here alone. What did you do all week?"

"I'm okay… and it's good. My week was fine… I mostly just hung around. You know."

She knows. She is used to me being a hermit, my head in a book.

Over the next couple days, Christian and I text back and forth. It's fun and flirty - and maybe a little naughty - but it's not the same. It feels like my other half is missing. After work on Wednesday, I stop at the store and get ingredients for chicken fajitas - one of my specialties. I am the cook in the house, so I usually make dinner on my nights. Kate is an expert at ordering take-out.

I get home and start on dinner while Kate looks on, glass of wine in hand. Her phone pings with an incoming text message.

"Ooh!" She says, "It's _him_ again. Do you care if he comes over tonight?"

"Sure," I say, "I got plenty of groceries… Which guy again? Someone from work?" And I take a long drink of my lemonade.

"No, he's in construction I think. His name is Elliot-something…" She shrugs, typing a response. Her phone pings again. "He says his brother, Christian, wants to come along. Is that okay?"

And I choke. I spew my lemonade into the sink, coughing and trying to catch my breath.

"Ana! God, are you okay?"

"Mmm-hmm." I say, wiping my mouth and trying to act casual.

"What?" She says.

 _Shit. Here we go..._

"Do you know him?" And she stares at me, her eyes narrowing to a steely glint.

"Um," I say, returning to slice up the peppers, keeping my voice casual, "he spent the week with me."

I look back up, and her face is blank while she processes this. "Wait. When? Just now? While I was gone?"

"Umm-hmm."

"Ana! What. The. Fuck. You said you just hung around..."

"I did! Just not... alone." And then I spill it. The party... meeting up with him again... hanging out. Okay, so I don't give her ALL the details. "We're friends. He's _nice_."

" _Nice_? Huh." She smiles - an evil grin - and texts Elliot back. _Oh, she wants Christian to come over._

About twenty minutes later, the boys arrive, bringing a case of beer and a whole lot of testosterone into our little house.

Oh, Elliot is cute… boyishly handsome, tall, and well-built. _Hmm, the Grey brothers._ I know they're both adopted, so that makes it even more incredible. Right away, I can tell that Elliot is more playful and openly affectionate. He scoops Kate up, swings her around, and then dips her low to the floor. Setting her back on her feet, he gives her a playful smooch on the lips.

While this is happening, Christian is looking right at me, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He points at himself, then me, then puts his finger to his lips.

 _Oh, okay, so this is how we're going to play it, Mr. Grey? I'm IN._

"... and this is Ana," Kate bubbles, looking from me to Elliot to Christian.

"Ana," says Elliot, striding over to shake my hand. "Kate's told me so much about you…" His eyes widen slightly as he takes me in.

I blush and shake his hand. "Hello, Elliot." _Yeah, she didn't tell you everything, did she? This night is going to be full of surprises…_

"And this is my baby brother, Christian," he says, and Kate and I both shake Christian's hand. His hand grasps mine firmly, lingering for just a moment.

"Well," I announce. "Dinner's just about ready. If you can all give me a hand setting it out?"

I direct them in putting out the tortillas in their warmer, the shredded cheese, sour cream, and homemade guacamole, plates and silverware. Finally, I bring over the pan of sizzling chicken, peppers, and onions.

We all shuffle around each other, arranging the ingredients and filling our plates. When I lean over to pull the guacamole out of the fridge, I feel Christian walk by and skim his fingers across my ass. And while he's filling his plate, I reach across him, rubbing my hand down the length of his forearm. "Excuse me," I say innocently.

We sit down at the dining room table, Elliot at the head with Kate to his right. Christian sits to Elliot's left, with me beside him.

Elliot raises his bottle of Dos Equis in a toast. "To new friends," he says. Christian and Kate raise their bottles, and they all look at me.

I sigh and roll my eyes, raising my glass of ice water. "And you all suck," I say, laughing. After a second's pause, they join me, and we clink together to seal the deal.

Elliot and Kate are both in high spirits, and they carry the dinner conversation. I watch them and decide that they do make an adorable couple. They're both blonde and good-looking, loud and extroverted. They both grew up in privileged families, but are hard workers. Elliot tells stories about some of his crazy customers in the construction business.

While Elliot's going on about a customer who changed his mind about the shape of his roofline _three times_ , I feel Christian put his hand on my knee. He squeezes it firmly, then slides his fingers to the inside of my thigh. Then slowly, his expression of humored attention never changing, he begins to work his fingers up…

My reflexes kick in and I gasp, shutting my thighs on his hand.

Elliot stops mid-sentence and glares at Christian. "Dude, what the fuck are you two playing at?"

Christian looks at me, I look at him, and we burst out laughing. "Gotcha!" He says, and then points at Elliot. "And you think _you're_ the king of practical jokes."

But Elliot isn't laughing. "Did you… I mean, is that your…" he stutters. "I mean, I thought you were GAY!"

 _Oh! Oh, shit. We did not think this all the way through._ And Christian is _definitely_ not gay.

Christian sobers quickly and raises both hands in a plea for innocence. "Keep your pants on, Elliot." He says. "First of all, no I am not gay. And we met at the party too. And that was only _two months_ ago. We're friends. Got it?"

Elliot looks at me and I nod. _It's true, right? We're friends. I mean, sort of…_

We clear the food and dishes away and bring out a deck of cards. After some serious debating, we decide to play poker. Being the only truly sober one in the room, I clean up, winning the $26 pot.

"Okay, okay," Elliot finally jokes. "She's wiping me out here. But seriously, I have to be on the site at five o'clock tomorrow morning. Ready, bro?"

Christian turns and looks at me.

I shrug. "I don't know, Grey, are you coming or going?"

We grin and head upstairs, leaving the two of them gaping in our wake. And it's priceless.

By the time we reach my room, we're really going at it. Touching, groping, yanking off our clothes.

"That was fun," he growls. "But it's been a _long_ three days. And right now I want to fuck you into the middle of next week."

 _Oh my. It's gonna be another hot summer night._


	3. 2 Blue Collar Dom

**Blue Collar Dom**

 _ **Ana picked the wrong day to ignore a warning light, and her car breaks down on the hottest day of the year. Stressed and exhausted, she cops an attitude with the handsome tow truck driver who shows up to help her, and he's not about to let her get away with it.**_

* * *

" _Noooo,"_ Ana groaned, pressing her foot to the gas pedal in desperation. "Come on, don't pull this shit on me now!"

Her car, being an inanimate object, didn't respond to her pleas. The engine puttered itself into silence, and Ana smacked the steering wheel in frustration. She carefully guided the stalled car to the shoulder and brought it to a full stop, wishing fervently for an end to this shit-storm of a day. For a few moments, she merely sat with her eyes closed and rested her forehead against her palm.

Summer had turned her quaint little hometown into a sweltering wasteland of empty streets and buzzing insects. The national weather service had issued heat index warnings every day this week, and today had seen the highest temperature spike to date, breaking a local record that was more than sixty years old. Even now, in the early evening hours, the thermostat read just under a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Everyone with a lick of common sense stayed in their air-conditioned homes and workplaces, which gave the small city a desolate, 'ghost town' sort of feel. Even the outlying rural highways, such as the one where Ana was now stranded, were practically abandoned.

Ana sighed in frustration and retrieved her cell from her purse, praying that her service provider hadn't failed her today as well. She gave a little cry of thanks when she saw the strength of the signal and immediately called her husband. The first call went to voicemail, as did the second. She frowned in confusion, since he rarely missed her calls, but she didn't waste time wondering about it. She called for a tow truck next and relayed her information and location to the dispatcher, receiving a text a short while later to confirm that a driver would be there soon.

Once she'd rolled all of the windows down and gathered her long hair into a messy bun, Ana gazed blindly through the windshield at the mirage of heat that obscured the horizon. She cursed herself inwardly, knowing that she probably wouldn't be in this mess if she'd just listened to her husband about keeping up on the maintenance. It was no one's fault but her own, and she was sure he'd be the first to tell her that.

In her rush to get to work on time, she'd ignored the engine light that had come on that morning. Her morning commute was nearly an hour long on average, and her husband had already left for work. The day had been incredibly busy, especially with her boss breathing down her neck for the majority of it, and there simply hadn't been time to call a mechanic. She'd resolved to make the call the following day, but a nagging little voice in the back of her mind pointed out that tomorrow wasn't likely to be much better.

At any rate, it didn't matter now. She hadn't thought the mechanical issue would be such a big deal that it couldn't have waited one more day, but it seemed fate was determined to prove her wrong. Ana also knew her husband would be pissed at her, and she didn't blame him. A tow truck fee and a repair job wouldn't come cheap. Money was tight at the moment, thanks to some transitions at his job and unexpected home repairs last month.

 _Fuck. When it rains, it pours…_ Ana paused in her thoughts, glancing reflexively at the cloudy sky. _Please, don't rain…_

The heat was consuming and oppressive, lingering even after the sun disappeared below the horizon. The only sounds were the chirping of crickets from the fields surrounding her and the faint ticking of her watch as the minutes crawled by. An hour had passed since she'd called for a tow, and she hadn't seen a single passing car she could flag down for help. Her husband had yet to answer his phone, and Ana knew that her battery wouldn't last much longer if she kept trying. She became increasingly more impatient the longer she waited, and her mood had grown substantially worse by the time the headlights of the tow truck illuminated the interior of her car.

"Finally," she muttered, grabbing her purse and stepping out onto the pavement.

The truck pulled onto the shoulder in front of her and backed slowly toward her vehicle while she stood with her hands on her hips. She heard the driver's door open and immediately took him to task for keeping her waiting.

"It's about damn time! Do you know how long I've been out here?!"

Ana rarely forgot her manners, but she'd reached the end of her tether an hour ago. As the driver stepped out from the shadow of his vehicle, she fell silent, momentarily stunned by his appearance. He was easily the most attractive man she'd ever seen.

He was tall, tanned, and _very_ well-built. A button-down, uniform shirt encased his broad shoulders, and the short sleeves revealed muscular, tattooed arms. His brown hair was slightly mussed, as though he'd just run his hand through it. There was a moderate amount of stubble on his jaw, and his brow was furrowed in a scowl of disapproval over his dark eyes.

"Are you this polite to everyone who tries to help you?" he asked insolently, not even attempting to hide his open appraisal of her body as he walked toward her. Ana's eyes fell to the embroidered name tag on his uniform.

 _Christian_.

"Uh… I apologize. I, um… I've been here a while, and it's been a… rough day," she finished lamely, mentally shaking herself out of the stupor that seemed to have overtaken her.

"I'm sure," Christian replied sardonically before gesturing to her car. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know. The engine died while I was driving. It might just be overheated, but I tried it again a little while ago and got nothing."

"It just died? No warning, no weird sounds beforehand?"

"Well…" _Fuck, he's going to think I'm an idiot._ "The engine light came on this morning while I was on my way to work," Ana admitted. His expression grew a shade darker, and she resisted the urge to avert her eyes.

"And you still drove it home? From where?" he demanded. The silken tone of his voice held a breath of warning, but she ignored it.

"I work in the city. I didn't have time to arrange another way home today." Christian continued to stare at her with that disapproving scowl on his face, and she felt her previous irritation return in response to his attitude toward her. _What's his problem? Surely I'm not the first woman to ignore a warning light and end up broken down on the side of the road…_ "Look, my husband isn't answering his phone. Can you give me a ride into town?"

His frown seemed to deepen a little at her words, but he nodded and instructed her to wait in the cab. Christian's eyes never left her as she walked to the passenger door and clambered up into the rig. It didn't take him long to get her car hitched properly, and Ana watched him shamelessly through the side mirrors as he worked. He moved with the confidence of a man who knew what he was doing.

"Put your seatbelt on," he commanded once he'd climbed back into the cab, and he actually waited until she'd clicked the buckle into place before he put the truck into gear and pulled onto the road. The air between them was thick with heat and tension, growing more awkward by the second.

"Thanks for the ride," Ana said quietly.

"What's your name?" he demanded. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Usually people say 'you're welcome.'"

"You're welcome. What's your name?"

"Ana."

"Won't your _husband_ wonder why you're out so late? Why did he let you drive the car with the engine light on in the first place?"

Ana was both surprised and perplexed by his interest in her, resenting the disapproval that seemed to roll off of him in waves. She ignored the first question and focused on the second.

"He didn't know about the light," she replied, sounding a bit defensive. "The light didn't come on until I was almost at work this morning. I was going to call or take the car somewhere today, but I just didn't have time. I would've taken it in tomorrow…"

"Did you speak to your husband at all during the workday?"

"Yes…?"

"Then why didn't you tell him so you could arrange another way home? Seems reckless, in my opinion."

"I didn't _ask_ for your opinion," she fired back. Christian's fists clenched tightly around the steering wheel.

"If you were mine, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week," he muttered darkly. Before Ana could ask what he meant by that, he went on. "You allowed yourself to get stranded in a desolate area. What if your car had died in a bad part of the city instead? What if you didn't have cell reception to call for a tow? There's a heat advisory still in effect. Did you have an emergency kit with bottled water or something in your car?"

"No," she retorted, irritated at being chastised like an errant child.

A smaller part of her felt a little ashamed as well, because whether or not it was Christian's place to admonish her, he hadn't said anything that wasn't true. Still, she wasn't in the mood to acquiesce, and his high-handed attitude pissed her off. She'd had a long day, and her tolerance had evaporated hours ago.

"The point is that I _wasn't_ still in the city, I _did_ have cell service, and I _was_ able to call for help. So what does it matter? Why do you care?"

"Someone ought to," Christian grunted under his breath. His words were so quiet that Ana wasn't even certain of what he'd said, but she was distracted by their arrival at a local auto repair shop.

The truck bounced and swayed from side to side as they pulled into the lot and came to a stop in front of a large door. He turned off the engine and signaled for her to follow him as he climbed out of the truck. She slipped awkwardly out of the passenger side and tried not to stumble in her heels as she walked over the gravel behind him. Christian unlocked a side door and flipped a few light switches on his way inside.

"Are you the owner?" Ana inquired as she followed him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, so you're the only one who gets to ask questions?" His answering stare had her rolling her eyes again. "You have the keys and, apparently, the clearance to be here after hours. I was just asking."

"No, I'm not the owner, but I know him well. I'm a trusted employee, and I have a set of keys in the event of the occasional late night road call."

Ana nodded, satisfied that she'd managed to get a semi-normal response from him. The fluorescent lights were still flickering slightly overhead, and she took a moment to examine the interior of the garage. It looked like a typical, small-town repair shop in most ways. It was clean and well-organized, and it had the look of a business that was prospering in spite of the recent slump in the local economy.

Christian pushed a button on the wall, and the large door began to rise slowly upward. As Ana watched him pull the truck into the garage and begin the process of unhitching her car, she couldn't help but feel very out-of-place. She shifted nervously around on her feet while he moved his truck to the lot outside and returned to the garage, closing the large door behind him. Once it had lowered back into place, the silent, cavernous quality of the garage seemed to draw attention to the fact that she was alone with a _very_ sexy stranger. A stranger who was clearly angry with her, which still didn't make sense.

 _Not that anything about this situation makes sense,_ she sighed inwardly. Her husband not answering her calls, Christian's odd frustration toward her… But what made the least sense of all was _her_ reaction to _him_.

Although she'd never admit it out loud, she wanted him. _Badly_. She couldn't seem to stop herself from tracking his movements as he retrieved a couple of tools and a flashlight, popped the hood of her car, and bent over to examine the engine. Even his stance seemed to exude irritation. The heat had left a sheen of sweat on the exposed portions of his tanned skin, and his clothing was stained from a long day's work. His biceps flexed and contracted in mesmerizing patterns as he moved, and each time he glanced in her direction, she suddenly found it much harder to breathe. He wore a seemingly permanent frown, and Ana wondered how much hotter he would look if he actually smiled.

 _It's probably a good thing he doesn't,_ she cringed, looking down at her wedding ring.

Her husband still hadn't returned her calls, and it occurred to her that she should probably call a cab to take her home. Her mother-in-law was the only other relative who lived near enough to be of any help, but Ana knew she'd had plans tonight.

"Turns out, you were right," Christian announced, reclaiming her attention as he dropped the hood back into place. "It overheated because you pretty much ran the coolant reservoir dry."

"Oh." She hoped he wouldn't notice how breathless her voice sounded.

"Yes, _oh_. It's a common issue this time of year, but it can be easily avoided with proper maintenance. You didn't have your fluid levels checked at the start of the summer, did you?"

"I made an appointment to have it done, but I had to cancel because something came up at work," she admitted.

"And I'm guessing your husband doesn't know about that either." Her guilty expression was all the answer he needed, and he gritted his teeth in response. Christian strode purposefully to one of the service desks and turned on the computer. "We can try to squeeze you into the schedule tomorrow. We'll call to let you know one way or the other. I'll need your address and phone number."

She rattled off the information, then walked around the garage a bit as he finished putting the order in the system. There was a classic blue Mustang parked a dozen or so feet from the exit, and she moved toward it unconsciously, admiring its sleek lines and the custom leather interior she could see through the windows. Even standing still, it looked fast.

Ana belatedly registered the absence of keyboard clicking behind her and turned to look at Christian again. He'd been watching her. Staring at her ass, if she had to guess, judging by the way his eyes had moved upward to meet hers. He was standing less than twenty feet from her, and that ever-present glower was still in place. Ana's mind went back to the disagreement they'd had in the truck, and before she could stop herself, she asked the question she'd wanted to ask earlier.

"What did you mean before about… 'if I were yours?'" She wanted to smack herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was a dangerous conversation to have, especially here, alone with him. She regretted the question even more when Christian's expression shifted slightly, becoming somehow predatory as he stalked slowly toward her.

"You didn't take care of your vehicle's maintenance before the summer heat set in," he began, ticking off her transgressions on his fingers. "You didn't take steps to fix the problem or even to tell anyone about it before attempting to drive the car home from the city. You put yourself in danger by getting stranded on one of the hottest days of the year with no water in your car. And you were very rude to me when I picked you up." He had nearly closed the distance between them and was now smirking as he held up four fingers. "I'd say that's at least fifteen smacks to that incredible ass of yours."

Ana's jaw dropped, and she began to back away from him little by little, only to find herself trapped against the side of the Mustang. Her lips parted as her heart rate skyrocketed, and her hands reached blindly behind her to brace against the hood of the car. Christian was suddenly right in front of her, in her personal space, and she looked up at him with her wide, blue eyes.

 _I should push him away… I should run…_

But she didn't.

"Something tells me you'd enjoy that," Christian murmured, his voice low and seductive. His mouth was curled upward in a smile that made her heart falter. "That you long to be disciplined and put in your place… That you crave the sting of a man's hand on your bare ass."

Ana knew she should gasp in outrage and be appalled by his words, but she couldn't even pretend to deny the truth in them. It was as though he'd reached into her mind and extracted her most secret fantasies, and now he was laying them out in front of her, taunting her. _Tempting_ her. She couldn't find the words to reply, and she lacked even the motivation to shake her head in denial. Instead, her eyes fell to his lips.

His perfect fucking lips.

Christian stepped even closer until he had her pressed against the car, which happened to belong to him, and he wondered how she would look if he bent her over the hood. He watched the thoughts and emotions play across her lovely face, waiting to see if she would take the bait. He couldn't seem to look away from her, not since the moment he'd first set eyes on her.

She was sex personified in her smart little skirt and blouse, with her hair swept off of her neck to reveal more of her sweet-smelling skin. He'd seen the tops of her thigh-highs as she'd climbed up into the truck, and his pants had been uncomfortably snug ever since. Christian knew he'd taken a risk with his words, but she wasn't pushing him away. And it was clear she wanted him, married or not.

He pushed closer still, feeling her full breasts press against his chest. Ana seemed unwilling to meet his gaze, and that alone told him more than she realized. She was submitting to him naturally, whether she knew it or not.

"Is that what you want?" he drawled, his hands resting lightly on her hips. "To be spanked like the mouthy little brat you are?"

Ana couldn't stop the soft moan that escaped her lips, and he grinned victoriously.

"I can tell you want it. You're trembling. Your pulse is throbbing in your neck. You're breathing like you just ran around the block… And I can practically _smell_ your arousal right now. I bet if I put my hand up your skirt, your panties would be soaked."

She gasped involuntarily, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment because she knew it to be true. She'd been wet since she'd watched him examine her car.

"Tell me," Christian urged, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Is that what you want?"

"Yes." It was a tiny word, spoken in an even tinier voice, and he demanded more.

"What was that?"

"Yes."

"Yes, _Sir,_ " he corrected. Ana closed her eyes and groaned in longing.

"Yes, Sir."

"Turn around and bend over the car. Palms flat on the hood." His dick twitched as she obeyed, and he reached down to pull her skirt over her hips, revealing a black garter set and a matching pair of panties. "Your ass is _perfect_ ," he praised her as he lowered her panties. "I knew it would be. It'll be even more beautiful when I'm finished."

She shuddered against the car as his hand caressed her bare skin, testing the flesh as though deciding the exact placement of his handprints.

"You get five for not calling someone about the car once you realized there was a problem. Five more for driving it in that condition rather than finding a different way home. Five more for not having supplies for the hot weather in your car. And let's say three more for the attitude you gave me when I picked you up. I'm giving you a break there because even though you were rude, you turned me on. How many is that, little one?"

"Eighteen, Sir."

"Eighteen. If you want to stop me at any time, all you need to do is say the word. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," she moaned, knowing the word 'stop' would never pass her lips.

"Then count."

The smooth metal of the Mustang was warm under her cheek, but even with the summer heat, a hint of condensation bloomed next to her mouth each time she exhaled. One of Christian's hands rested on the back of her neck, applying only a little pressure to remind her to stay still. The first impact of his open hand on her bare ass made her jump slightly, and the sound echoed through the empty garage, mingling with the sound of her ragged breaths.

Ana's body began to hum with pleasure as she counted each strike, and she could hear him groaning in appreciation at the way her skin pinkened beneath his hand. By the time she'd counted all eighteen strikes, she was dripping with need.

"Now… tell me why you were punished," he commanded. He didn't remove his hand from the back of her neck, massaging it gently as she repeated her offenses back to him almost verbatim. "Very good. Your ass has my handprints all over it, and I'd like nothing more than to fuck you right here and now."

Ana moaned loudly as he pressed a hand to her core. She was molten and dripping onto his fingers.

"You have to say it," Christian insisted. "Your body is already telling me what you want, but I need to hear it from your lips. _Say it._ "

"Yes, please," she gasped.

"Please _what_?"

"Please fuck me, Sir."

Almost in the blink of an eye, his pants were undone and he ripped her underwear off of her completely. Before she could take another breath, he was inside of her, filling her to the brim and slamming into her so violently that it was all she could do to hold herself in place against the car. Her heels didn't give her much traction on the concrete floor, but it didn't matter. Christian held her hips as he pounded relentlessly, his own hips smacking forcefully against the inflamed skin of her backside.

Ana's climax was upon her quickly, having been highly sensitized by the spankings. Her cries of ecstasy were amplified in the large, open space, and he shouted in satisfaction at the feel of her walls clenching rhythmically around his cock.

"Do you like that? To be bent over and _fucked till your eyes can't focus?_ "

"Yes!" she screamed, still spasming.

Christian took her hands off the car and pinned them both behind her back, holding her wrists in place with one hand. With the other, he gripped a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back toward him. He set a ruthless pace, and Ana felt her feet leave the floor entirely with the force of his thrusts. She didn't know whether it was his words or his roughness that triggered her second release, but as the waves of pleasure overtook her again, she felt Christian erupt within her, flooding her with warmth.

He collapsed forward, managing to keep most of his weight off of her, and they gasped for oxygen as they gradually came down from their orgasms. The tendrils of hair at the nape of Ana's neck were dark and saturated with sweat, and she smiled when she felt him drop a kiss onto her dampened skin. Christian eased out of her body and helped her to stand, turning her around to face him before pulling her into his arms. Her lips were drawn to his as naturally as a compass pointed north, and they kissed passionately for several moments, only stopping when she began to squirm and giggle.

"Your cum is running down my legs, _Sir_. What will my husband think?"

"He thinks it's hot as fuck," Christian groaned, reaching down to feel the evidence for himself. Ana grinned up at him and nodded in agreement, but in the next second, she was frowning in concern.

"Where's your ring?"

"Right here, baby," he smiled, tapping his breast pocket. He pulled it out and slid it back into place on his left hand. "Better?"

"Much."

They melted into another kiss, getting caught up in each other again until they were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. Christian sighed but pulled away to check the caller ID. It was his mother.

"Hey, Mom. Everything okay?" he asked, chuckling as he hastily handing his wife some paper towels to deal with the mess he'd left behind.

"Everything's fine, dear. The kids just wanted to call and say goodnight. Just a second."

Christian smiled and activated the speakerphone to include Ana as well. There was a muted shuffling on the other end before a small, familiar voice greeted them.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, Ben. Mommy's here too. Have you guys had fun with Grandma Grace?"

"Yeah, we got to make cookies after dinner. But Teddy and Lizzie are hogging the TV. They always choose shows I don't like."

"Well, that comes with being the oldest, buddy. They'll grow out of the little kid shows soon enough," Christian explained, smiling at his wife as she shook her head at how quickly their eight-year-old was growing up.

"I hope so. Teddy wants to talk next, and I need to go brush my teeth."

"Okay, sweetie. Goodnight!" Ana said, and Ben replied in kind before putting his five-year-old brother on the phone.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, I'm here, Teddy. Daddy too. Have you been good for Grandma?"

"Yeah, but Lizzie hasn't. She cried so she wouldn't have to eat her peas."

"Grandma let her get away with that?" Christian grinned.

"She gets away with _everything_. And she still got to have a cookie. Can you give her extra peas next time we make them at home?"

"We'll see," Ana laughed. "Love you, Teddy. We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Love you guys too. Lizzie!" he shouted into the phone, making both of his parents wince.

They could hear his noisy footsteps as he ran away from the phone, and their daughter picked up a moment later. Christian knew his mother had saved her for last because she had a tendency to be a chatterbox. Elizabeth hadn't spoken a word until after second birthday, but once she'd started talking, there had been no stopping her. Now three years old, it seemed that she never ran out of things to say. Her speech was still a little hard to follow at times, and as usual, it took some convincing from her parents to get her to quiet down and get ready for bed.

Grace generally had the kids overnight once a week. Christian had been planning a date night for them this week, but Ana's car had picked an unfortunate day to break down. Although he hadn't answered her calls, he _had_ replied with a text to tell her that a certain Dom driving a tow-truck was on his way, reminding her of a roleplay idea they'd discussed once long ago. The attitude she'd given him upon his arrival had been his cue to run with it.

Christian opened the heavy door nearest to the car he'd just fucked his wife on before circling back to open the passenger side door for her. Once they were on their way out of the parking lot, he reached across to capture her hand and brought it to his lips.

"You know, Mrs. Grey… We've got the whole house to ourselves when we get home."

"All night," Ana grinned. He revved the engine of the Mustang, and it purred almost as seductively as he did.

"Let's see how many times you can come before sunrise."


	4. 3 Summer Beach Party

**Summer Beach Party**

 ** _It's the Bellevue High summer party of the century! Mia gives her best friend Ana a makeover before the Kavanagh's beach party, and her hot new look catches the attention of teenage heartthrob Jose Rodriguez—and Mia's brother doesn't like it one bit. Meanwhile, the Kavanagh siblings set their sights on their own love interests: Christian and Mia Grey. OOC fluff, drama, & romance. No BDSM_**

* * *

 _Bellevue High School Summer Beach Party Bash!_

 _Hosted by Ethan and Kate Kavanagh Saturday, August 25th_ 8pm _till whenever Madison Park Beach near 43rd St_

 _Freshmen thru Seniors welcome! Special guest DJ Warhead for the music. Food and drinks will be provided—please don't drink and drive!_

 ** _245 Going * 342 Interested_**

The Facebook invite had gone out to all the students at Bellevue High weeks ago, and it was all any of the teenagers in the area could talk about. The party was happening about a week before the new school year was about to start, meaning it was going to be the last hurrah of their blessed summer break. Ethan Kavanagh was going to be a senior this year and he was one of the most popular kids in school, and his sister Kate (a junior) was currently the head of the cheerleading squad—apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Kavanagh were going to be out of town that weekend and allowed their kids to have some friends over. That meant literally everybody at school was going to be at this party, and it was going to be unbelievably amazing.

This was the one chance all the unpopular kids could go to one of the "cool kids" parties without being laughed out of the place. At least that was what they hoped.

"I _cannot_ believe you talked me into doing this, Mia."

Mia Grey had to practically drag her stubborn friend out of her mom's car, which she had borrowed to take to the party tonight. Dozens of other cars were parked around the block, and crowds of teenagers were gathering together near a huge dance floor on the beachfront. The sun was just starting to set along the horizon, and tiki torches were being lit around the entire area, lighting up everything.

"Ana, come _on—_ what are you so worried about?" Mia asked, still tugging on her friend's arm. "You agreed to come with me to this party, and that I could dress you up for it—why waste it by just sitting in the car?"

"Ugh—I'm nervous, okay?" Ana said, finally reluctantly getting out of the car. Mia had insisted she wear a short, royal blue sleeveless summer dress, some stylish sandals, and silver bangle bracelets on her wrists. Since Mia wanted to go to beauty school someday, she had convinced Ana to let her do her hair and makeup as well—Ana's chestnut brown hair was now hanging long and straight down her back, and on her face she wore dusky eyeshadow, pink lipstick, and light bronzer, completing the ensemble. It was all very pretty, but it made Ana feel uncomfortable.

"This doesn't feel right, Mia," Ana complained, following her best friend across the street toward the beachfront. "I'm used to wearing sweatshirts and jeans and glasses. I feel like such a fake wearing all this. What if everyone else laughs at me?"

"Ana, no one's gonna laugh at you," Mia said firmly, turning to face her. Mia looked gorgeous in a short bohemian off-the-shoulder pink dress with her dark hair in crimped curls. "Wanna know how the popular kids get popular? They _look_ the part. They're all just as fake as you feel right now, but just for tonight, you and I can pretend to be a part of that fake crowd. If it's just for a night, why not enjoy it a little?"

Ana couldn't help but smile slightly, feeling oddly comforted. "I guess so."

"Great," Mia nodded, smiling. She hooked her arm with Ana's before they continued to make their way toward the party. "I promise, we'll have a good time tonight, and if things get too crazy we'll leave. Or we can get Christian to come by and protect us."

Ana giggled, remembering Mia's older brother was going to be at this party too. "Sounds good."

* * *

"Whoa, who's that?"

Christian was currently at the Kavanagh's beach party, having met up with a few of his buddies on the track team there. One of the guys in their group, Jose Rodriguez, was gazing at someone across the crowd, and Christian looked over to see what he was looking at:

He noticed his sister Mia and her friend Ana arrive… but Christian was shocked to see that Ana didn't look like herself at all. She had always been the quiet, bookworm-y type who sat in the library in a sweatshirt and messy bun, but now she looked like a completely different girl. She still looked like Ana, but… different.

Beautiful.

Christian felt his heart pound in his chest as he stared at her. "…Wow."

"Hey Chris, isn't that your sister's friend?" Derek asked, nodding over at her.

"She's fucking _hot_. Holy shit, how've I never noticed her before?" Jose asked, practically salivating as he watched Ana and Mia walk through the crowd. Christian knew Jose's reputation as a huge player who constantly screwed around. He was the last guy any parent would want around their daughter.

"Dude, relax—she's a sophomore," Christian said to him, feeling suddenly protective of Ana. Why the hell was he feeling this way?

"Who cares? I'm a junior," Jose insisted. "Is she seeing anyone? Wait, I don't care, I'm introducing myself anyway."

Before Christian could say anything, Jose began making his way through the crowd toward Mia and Ana. Christian was about to go after him when Derek stopped him.

"Dude, chill. If Ana had half a brain, she'd stay as far away from that asshole as possible," he said, and Christian grimaced.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He was going to keep an eye on Jose and Ana though. Just in case.

* * *

Ethan Kavanagh made his way through the crowd of people toward the stage, where he saw his sister conversing with the DJ about the music:

"…We're not going to open the dance floor until the sun goes down completely, so don't start playing the dance music until then. For now, you can play music as background noise, but just keep it to Top 40 hits. Okay?" Kate said in her usual bossy tone. Before the DJ could say anything, she had turned around and began to walk away. She quickly spotted her brother and grinned.

"Hey Ethan."

"Hey sis. Having fun bossing everyone around?" Ethan asked, smirking slightly.

"Hey, if I didn't boss people around, nothing would ever get done," Kate said flippantly, crossing her arms. "That's what Dad always says."

"Whatever," Ethan said before frowning down at her outfit, which was a pink and blue Hawaiian print bikini covered by a sheer blue sarong. "That outfit's a little revealing, don't you think?"

"It's the last week of summer—I need to look the part," Kate insisted, twirling around to show off her tiny bathing suit. "I don't have to worry about school dress codes when I'm at the beach! Besides, I want Christian Grey to finally notice me tonight."

Ethan rolled his eyes, knowing all about his sister's ridiculous infatuation with Christian Grey. "Kate, if Christian were interested in you, you would know by now. Your persistence is not doing you any favors at this point."

"Says you," Kate scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You think your method is the better way to go? I doubt Mia Grey has even the slightest idea of how you really feel about her, does she?"

Ethan felt the blush creep up his neck, embarrassed that his little sister knew that about him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He knew he was lying—he had had a crush on Christian's sister since he'd met her a few months ago, but since she was friends with the more "artsy" unpopular people, and Ethan hung out with all the jocks, their pairing wouldn't really make sense. Ethan was currently dating a pretty blonde varsity cheerleader named Elena Lincoln, however, and that was working out fine for him.

"Whatever," Kate said, rolling her eyes. "Anyone with eyeballs can see the way you look at Mia, and you're the only one who's denying it. Bet you twenty bucks I can get a Grey before you can, big bro."

Kate gave her brother a wink before walking past him, lightly bumping his shoulder as she went. Once she was gone, Ethan rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Hi. You're Ana, right?"

Ana and Mia both turned to see Jose Rodriguez approach them through the crowd, smiling at them. Ana felt her heart stutter in her chest—she had never spoken to Jose in person, but she knew his reputation as being one of the cutest boys in school that all the girls wanted to date. Tonight he looked amazing wearing a pair of blue board shorts and a black wife beater that showed off his muscular arms and shoulders. Ana could only stare at him dumbly for a second or two before Mia nudged her with her elbow.

"O-Oh, um—yeah," Ana stuttered, blushing slightly before holding out her hand for him to shake. "Nice to meet you. You're Jose Rodriguez, right?"

"Guilty," Jose grinned at her, shaking her hand before glancing over at Mia. "And you're Christian's little sister?"

"Yup, I'm Mia," Mia smiled at him. "Is my brother around?"

"Last I saw he was over there, on the other side of the dance floor," Jose nodded toward the opposite side of the noisy crowd.

"Cool. I think I'm going to go say hi," Mia said, glancing over at Ana and giving her a telling smile. Ana's eyes widened in shock as Mia waved goodbye to them and walked away, leaving Ana and Jose alone together.

"So," Jose turned to Ana, smiling at her in a charming way. "Wanna go grab a drink, Ana?"

Ana felt her knees go weak as her heart hammered with nervous excitement. "Um, sure," she said tremulously. She followed him to a nearby table, where there was wide variety of snacks and a large punch bowl with red juice and pineapple rings floating in it. Jose ladled some of the punch into two plastic cups and handed her one.

"Thanks," Ana smiled at him before taking a small sip. It tasted like fruit punch with a weird, bitter aftertaste to it, and Ana realized there must have been some sort of alcohol in there. She'd never tasted alcohol before, and she wasn't keen to get totally trashed at her very first beach party, so she decided to pace herself and not drink more than one glass of this stuff tonight.

"So Ana… you're going to be a sophomore this year?" Jose asked her, gazing at her interestedly. "Yeah," Ana nodded, though she felt a bit confused. "How did you know?"

"Oh um, well…" Now it was Jose's turn to look a bit embarrassed, and he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head. "I asked Christian about you earlier. I wanted to know more about you… I just think you're kind of cool, that's all. I'm sorry if that's weird or whatever."

Ana felt her heart pound even faster, and she could do little more than giggle, her face still bright pink. "Oh, no that's not weird. Um… thank you."

Jose grinned at her, and Ana couldn't help but smile widely back, for the first time feeling hopeful and excited for tonight.

"So, what do you like to do for fun, Ana?" Jose asked her, bringing his cup of punch to his lips.

* * *

"Hey Chris."

Mia approached her brother on the opposite side of the dance floor. He was standing with his friend Derek near the DJ setting up his soundboard on the stage. Derek was watching the DJ as Christian stared over people's heads at something in the distance.

"Hey Mia," Christian said distractedly, still gazing at something over her head. "Um… what are you looking at?" Mia frowned, glancing over her shoulder.

"Jose went over to flirt your friend Ana," Derek explained when Christian didn't say anything. "He's just checking up on them."

"Oh, that's right," Mia turned and grinned at her brother. "Jose came up to talk to us, but it was obvious he only wanted to talk to Ana. I decided to step away and give them a little alone time together."

"You did _what_?" Christian's eyes snapped on his sister, looking shocked. "Why would you do that?"

Mia's smile turned into a frown. "Um… because they're clearly into each other, and I was trying to be a good friend to Ana."

"I don't know if that's a good idea Mia. Jose can be a bit…well… " Derek hesitated. "It just might not be a good idea for him to be talking to her."

"You're right, it's not," Christian agreed angrily, crossing his arms, and Mia gave him a bemused look.

"Since when did you care so much about Ana's well-being?" she asked. "It's just a little harmless flirting, and I want Ana to have some fun tonight while she's here. I know her well enough to know she isn't going to do anything too crazy with Jose, so what's the problem?"

"Mia, if you were a real friend to Ana you would make sure Jose isn't allowed anywhere near her," Christian insisted. "She can go flirt with someone… better for her. Jose isn't that guy."

Mia's eyes widened as realization dawned on her face. "Oh my God, you're jealous!" "What?" Christian looked taken aback.

Derek suddenly laughed. "Oh my God dude, you totally are!"

"No I'm not—shut up," Christian said, though his face went red as he said that. "That's ridiculous!"

"Mm-hm, sure," Mia said with a sarcastic smirk. "So you don't want to be the one over there flirting with Ana right now? She does look pretty hot tonight, wouldn't you say?"

"Will you two shut up?" Christian growled, and he shoved Derek, who was still laughing at him. "Just because I feel protective of Ana doesn't mean I like her like that."

"Why would it be so wrong if you did like her? Seriously, Christian—you and Ana together isn't totally crazy," Mia went on sincerely. "She's an amazingly sweet person, and I know that you're very loyal and protective of the people you care about. I think the two of you would make an awesome couple."

Christian didn't say anything to that, but he glanced over Mia's head once again to gaze at Ana and Jose across the crowd. Was dating Ana something he really wanted to do? He had known her for a few years now, and while he had never felt particularly attracted to her, he had always noticed the cute expression on her face whenever she was concentrating on her homework, or the way she scrunched her nose when she laughed at a funny joke…

He gazed at her beautiful body in that tiny blue dress and her long brown hair glimmering in the light of the tiki torches. His pulse skyrocketed, and he frowned to himself.

Fuck, he was really screwed.

 _PEACE UP! A-TOWN DOWN!_

The opening lines of Usher's "Yeah" suddenly blasted across the entire beachfront, and spotlights from the stage moved down to shine brightly on the dance floor. The whole crowd began to scream and cheer in delight, knowing that the party was finally about to begin—the sun had now fully set, and the flashing lights and tiki torches allowed the high energy of this beach party to come out completely. Teens moved onto the dance floor, dancing to the beat of the music.

"Oh man, I love this song!" Derek exclaimed happily. "I'm gonna go find Nikki, 'scuse me."

Derek hurried off, leaving Mia and Christian standing off to the side of the dance floor. Before either of them could say anything, they were approached by a blonde girl in a Hawaiian print bikini.

"Hi Christian," Kate Kavanagh smiled coquettishly, grooving to the beat of the music.

"Hi Kate," Christian smiled at her politely. Kate often flirted with him when they were at school, and although she was definitely very pretty, her bossy, domineering attitude really didn't appeal to him all that much.

"God, I _love_ this song," she giggled, bringing her arms up to her head and moving her hips. "Wanna dance with me?"

Christian dearly would have liked to say no, but over her head he noticed Ana and Jose make their way onto the dance floor together.

"Sure, what the hell?" Christian said to Kate, and she beamed at him.

"Um, Chris?" Mia said behind him, but he ignored his sister as Kate grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

* * *

Ana had never believed in fairy tales before, but tonight she really did feel like Cinderella at the ball. She was sure a guy like Jose would never have noticed her if she came to the party in her usual dowdy clothes, but since Mia wanted to show off her beautician skills, Ana got to come here looking like one of those Barbie dolls that usually got popular at school.

And now Jose Rodriguez was actually talking to her. This all felt like a dream come true.

The two of them chatted with each other for awhile, talking about school and their friends and classes they'd taken. As it turned out Ana was in a lot more advanced placement courses than Jose had ever gotten to take, which Ana thought was pretty funny considering he was a whole grade above her. Jose was clearly much more interested in sports and running for the track team than he was in academics, which suited him just fine.

When Usher's "Yeah" began to play and people moved onto the dance floor, Jose's whole expression perked up. "Hey, d'you wanna dance?"

Ana glanced over at the dance floor, feeling inexplicably nervous. "Oh, um… I don't know."

She had never danced in this kind of setting before, so this would be a whole new experience for her. Jose grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the crowd of people dancing to the beat.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" he insisted, pulling her along, and Ana decided to just go with it. This whole night was about her taking risks anyway, so why not?

They got onto the dance floor, where over a hundred kids were gathered together; everyone was packed together tightly, and Ana had a hard time making her way through the crowd. Jose was still holding her hand, so at least they didn't get separated.

Once they were in the middle of the dance floor, Jose stopped walking and turned to Ana. They were very close together, and Ana stared into his eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. He smiled before he started dancing to the music, and Ana soon followed his lead, swaying her hips and lifting her arms up in the air like with everyone else was.

 _Yeah! Yeah!_

 _Shorty got down low said, come and get me Yeah! Yeah!_

 _I got so caught up, I forgot she told me_

Jose was getting really close, and Ana wasn't sure how she felt about that—she may have enjoyed talking to him tonight, but when it came to this sort of touching, she was pretty clueless. She didn't want to seem rude, so she didn't push him away when he placed his hands on her hips, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze as they danced.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar face, and she glanced over to see Mia's brother Christian being dragged onto the dance floor by none other than Kate Kavanagh. Kate was one of the most popular girls in school, but she was extremely tenacious when it came to dating. Ana knew she had always had her sights set on Christian, so Ana couldn't help but giggle seeing the two of them together—Kate looking determined and Christian extremely regretful. He glanced over at Ana and waved, smiling slightly, and Ana smiled back.

 _But what I do know is the way she dance Make shorty alright with me_

 _The way she get low_

 _I'm like, yeah, just work that out for me_

Christian and Kate ended up only a few feet away from Ana and Jose, and she watched out of the corner of her eye Kate get up really close to Christian, grinding up to him to the beat of the song. She then turned around so her back was to his front, and her slender hips shimmied and swayed against his, her scantily-clad butt pressed up against his crotch.

Ana frowned to herself. _Am I supposed to do that to Jose?_

She looked over at Christian, and couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable he was—the expression on his face almost made her giggle. He glanced over at Ana and raised his eyebrows, clearly weirded out by Kate grinding up on him like this, and Ana couldn't help but smirk at him.

The song finally ended, and the crowd on the dance floor all cheered. Ana couldn't help but feel relieved the song was over and Jose finally took his hands off her.

"Hey so, um… I think I'm gonna go back to my friends now," Jose said to her. "Can I talk to you later?"

"Oh," Ana said, surprised. "Yeah, sure. See you later."

Jose smiled at her before turning and walking off. Ana, feeling a bit happy she wouldn't have to dance any longer, made her way off the dance floor just as "Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera started to play.

She walked back over to the table with the snacks and punch bowl, thinking she could grab a bite to eat before circling around and looking for Mia. Before she had a chance to, however, she saw someone hurrying off the dance floor nearby, and she glanced up.

"Christian?" Ana looked surprised as Christian walked quickly toward her, glancing around him nervously.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her away. "Why? Where's Kate?" Ana asked, glancing around the area as well.

"I asked her to get us drinks, and she could be back at any moment. Hurry, let's get out of here before she finds me."

Ana laughed as she allowed Christian to pull her away from the crowd and toward a more secluded area of the beach, where Kate was sure not to find them.

* * *

Ethan was glad to see so many people having a good time at his party. Everyone was drinking and dancing happily, and he had to hand it to Kate that the DJ she found was phenomenal. He was playing all the hits, which made the crowd scream and cheer in delight whenever a new song came on, and it added to the energy of the whole party.

Ethan circled the area, greeting some of his buddies as he went. Near the back of the dance floor, Ethan noticed Mia Grey standing alone with a cup of punch in her hand, listening to the music.

She looked so pretty tonight, wearing this off-the-shoulder pink summer dress that showed off her slender shoulders and long tan legs. Her short dark hair was curly tonight, and her chocolate brown eyes glimmered happily as she listened to the music, her body swaying to the beat as she idly sipped her drink. Ethan swallowed before approaching her, his heart beating anxiously in his chest.

"Hi… you're Christian's sister, right?" Ethan asked once he reached her, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, yeah. I'm Mia," Mia introduced herself, smiling at him. "And you're Ethan Kavanagh, right? I think we've met before."

Ethan smiled, pleased she remembered him. "Yeah, I actually know we've met before. I was trying to sound all cool and casual just then. Did it work?"

"Not really," Mia said, though she grinned at him. "But it was a good effort." Ethan couldn't help but chuckle. "Thanks."

Mia smiled at him before turning her gaze toward the crowd. "Cool party," she noted, glancing around at all the people now dancing to "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry. "You and your sister really know how to throw a fun beach party."

"It was mostly Kate's effort," Ethan admitted. "I just wanted to invite a few of my friends for a small house party, but she insisted that a beach party for all of Bellevue would be way more fun. I suppose she wasn't wrong."

"Yeah, but I just think she wanted an excuse to throw a party and make sure my brother Christian was here," Mia noted. "She's been so desperate to get him to notice her, it's embarrassing."

"I know, right?" Ethan laughed. "I've tried to tell her how annoying she's being, but she just won't listen to reason. She and our dad are way too alike."

"God, some girls just cannot be subtle," Mia shook her head.

"Really?" Ethan asked, turning to face her. "So you think girls need to be more subtle in order for a guy to notice them?"

"It depends, I guess," Mia said, looking over at Ethan before frowning slightly. "Why do you care how girls flirt? I thought you already had a girlfriend."

Ethan's spirits sunk when she mentioned his girlfriend. He cleared his throat, glancing down at the ground. "Oh yeah. Um… Elena and I are sort of dating at the moment, I guess… but it's complicated."

"Uh huh, sure it is," Mia said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "So you didn't approach me just now so you could hit on me?"

Ethan frowned at her, feeling like a dick because he knew she was right. "Elena and me are together for appearances, alright? I'm a football player and she's a cheerleader… we just fit the stereotype, y'know? It doesn't mean I like her that much, or that I don't think about other girls I might want to hang out with instead."

Mia blinked, staring at him. She seemed a bit affected by what he was saying, but quickly tried to hide it. "Why don't you? Hang out with the girl you want to, I mean."

Ethan shrugged, looking down. He was a coward and he knew it, but he didn't want to admit it to her. "I don't know."

Mia didn't say anything, but a moment later they heard a loud giggling coming from nearby. She and Ethan looked over, and were shocked to see Elena Lincoln herself being pulled off the dance floor by Jose Rodriguez. The two of them didn't notice Ethan and Mia nearby as they snickered and hurried off toward where the cars were parked, hand-in-hand, clearly about to go hook up.

Elena's white blonde ponytail bounced in the firelight as she rushed away with Jose.

Ethan turned to look back at Mia's shocked face. "Well, it looks like my situation just got a lot less complicated."

* * *

"So… you and Kate, then?"

Ana and Christian had wandered off together toward the shoreline of Lake Washington, the music and revelry from the party a distant sound. Darkness surrounded them as they walked along the sand, but Ana felt perfectly safe being alone with him—it was just Christian, whom she had known for years now.

"No, Kate and I aren't together," Christian insisted. "She just asked me to dance, and I was stupid enough to agree. I've regretted the decision ever since."

Ana giggled. "Well, you live and you learn."

"I suppose so," Christian said, smiling slightly. The two of them lapsed into silence as they continued to walk along the beach—beside them they could hear the lake lapping up against the shore, and the calm sounds felt comforting to Ana.

"So are you having fun tonight?" she asked, and Christian shrugged.

"I am actually, despite Kate throwing herself on me on the dance floor," he said, and Ana giggled. "I saw you out there with Jose Rodriguez."

"Oh, yeah," Ana smiled, blushing slightly. "He and I were talking a bit beforehand. I think he's pretty cool."

Christian was silent for a moment or two. "You think so?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit odd.

Ana glanced over at him. "Um, yeah," she said, frowning slightly. "Why do you care?"

"It's just that…" Christian hesitated. "Jose's not as nice as you think he is. A lot of the stuff he says to girls isn't true—he just says that stuff so he can get them to like him. Or he'll talk to them for a bit before dropping them if he doesn't think they're willing to go down on him."

"Ew, Christian!" Ana said, blushing at his reference to blow jobs. "Don't be gross—Jose isn't like that. He's been nothing but nice and respectful to me all night. We had a really good conversation, and he wasn't being a liar or a creep or anything."

"I've known Jose for years, Ana," Christian insisted. "I've seen him do stuff like that to tons of girls in the past. I just want you to be careful around him, alright?"

Ana stopped in her tracks, turning to face Christian before putting her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Why do you care, huh? What would it matter to you if Jose and I liked each other? Is it really so ridiculous to think that someone like him might actually like someone like me?"

Christian glared right back at her. "I'm not saying it to be mean. I just meant that I care about you, and I don't want a jerk like Jose taking advantage of someone as sweet and innocent and amazing as you. I would hate myself if he ended up hurting you in some way."

He had spoken without thinking, and Ana could only stare at him, a stunned expression on her face. The silence stretched between them as they stared into each other's eyes, the sounds of the party far behind them.

"I, um… I have to go," Ana muttered after a moment, and withthat she turned around and rushed back toward the party.

* * *

Ana hurried across the sandy beach back toward the party, hoping the strappy sandals Mia lent her would stay on her feet as she rushed along. She could hardly believe what Christian had said to her—did he really like her in that way? Was he actually jealous of her and Jose? She couldn't deny that Christian was definitely cute, but she had always just kind of known him as Mia's older brother and nothing more.

Trying to shake off these confusing thoughts, Ana made it back to the crowd of partygoers, and she glanced around for Jose, wondering where he had gone.

"Hey Ana."

Mia approached her from the crowd, and walking beside her was, surprisingly enough, Ethan Kavanagh.

"Hey Mia," Ana smiled at her friend before turning to Ethan. "Hi Ethan—fun party."

"Thanks Ana," Ethan smiled at her.

"Have either of you seen Jose anywhere?" Ana asked, glancing around the crowd again, hoping to get a glimpse of him. "He said that he wanted to catch up later."

Mia and Ethan didn't say anything, but instead glanced at each other with worried expressions on their faces. "Um… Ana?" Mia began hesitantly, and Ana looked at her. "I think there's something you should know."

Ana frowned, glancing between her and Ethan. "What are you talking about?"

"It's Jose," Ethan said hesitantly, glancing over at Mia. "Mia and I saw him a few minutes ago sneaking away from the party with my girlfriend Elena. We think they went to his car to… you know…"

Ana felt as if her heart had fallen to her stomach, and a flush spread across her cheeks. _Were they serious?_

"He snuck away… with _your_ girlfriend?" Ana asked Ethan, her voice shaking slightly.

"Yeah. She won't be my girlfriend for much longer, I'll tell you that much," Ethan said, his voice stiff.

"…Ana?"

The three of them turned to see Christian approach them from the beach, glancing between them. "What's going on?"

Ana, her heart pounding, glanced away from him to stare down at her feet.

"I was just telling Ana that Jose and my girlfriend snuck away to go hook up in his car," Ethan said to Christian, his voice flat. "It's all kinda fucked up."

Ana couldn't bring herself to look at Christian—not only did she feel bad for Ethan, but overall she felt humiliated by this whole situation. How could she have been so stupid to think Jose actually thought she was special? He was clearly a dick who would slept with other guys' girlfriends, and surely Christian was going to rub it in her face that he was right all along.

"Excuse me," Ana muttered, not looking at anyone as she pushed her way through the crowd of partygoers, wishing fervently she could just go home.

* * *

Christian watched helplessly as a clearly-embarrassed Ana rushed away into the crowd. "Ana?" Mia called after her. "Crap," she muttered sadly. "I'm going to go see if she's okay."

Mia hurried after her friend, leaving Ethan and Christian alone together. Despite how glad Christian was that Ana now knew Jose's true character, he felt awful she was so hurt and embarrassed by what happened. He wished he could do something about it.

"I'm sorry, man," Christian turned to Ethan. "Elena's a bitch."

Ethan shrugged. "Yeah I know, but I've suspected for awhile that she was cheating on me, so it didn't come as a total shock. I didn't really like her that much in the first place… there's actually another girl I've been interested in for awhile now."

"Really?" Christian asked, and his mind suddenly went to Ana. "You should go for it, man. Life's too short—you should be with the person you want to be with. It's that simple."

Ethan didn't say anything for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Hm… maybe you're right."

"I know I am," Christian said, and he suddenly grinned, a plan formulating in his head. "Hey, you don't happen to know where Jose's car is parked, do you?"

"Um, I think it was toward the northern end of 43rd Street near the beach," Ethan said, pointing. "That's where Mia and I saw them sneak off to. Why?"

"No reason," Christian said, gazing in the direction Ethan pointed. "Jose's car is a red Impala, right?"

Ethan smirked at his friend. "What are you planning, dude?" Christian chuckled. "You'll see. Come on."

He motioned Ethan to follow him toward the DJ booth, ready to put his plan in motion.

* * *

"Ana, wait!" Mia caught up to Ana, who was just pushing her way through the crowd of people with no aim of where she was going. "Please, stop!"

"I want to go home, Mia," Ana finally stopped and turned around so she was facing her friend. "This night was just a big waste of time."

"Don't say that," Mia insisted, gazing at Ana sadly. "I know Jose was a jerk to you, but at least you learned about it before you got more involved with him. Trust me, this is the best possible outcome."

"I know," Ana said, glancing down at her feet. "I realize that Jose was a jerk, but… I don't know, I guess I just hoped he would be different with me, that's all. Christian had actually tried to warn me earlier that Jose was an asshole, and I got angry at him for saying that. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be," Mia said sympathetically, pulling her friend in for a hug. "I'm sure Christian understands your situation. He's not a jerk like Jose—he's sweet and compassionate, and he's very loyal to the people he cares about. He would never do to girls what Jose does to them."

Ana couldn't help but smile slightly against Mia's shoulder as she hugged her back. "Yeah, I know."

Before Mia could say anything else, the music suddenly cut off and and the colored lights stopped flashing. Mia and Ana pulled away from each other as the people on the dance floor stopped dancing, glancing at each other in confusion.

" _Hey everyone_ ," The DJ's voice boomed out over the soundsystem, and everyone turned to look at him standing onstage with the mic. " _What's up, Bellevue —how y'all doing tonight?_ "

His question was met by cheers of delight from the crowd.

" _Good to hear,_ " the DJ chuckled once the noise died down. " _You Bellevue kids really know how to party! I'm gonna continue playing the music for you in just a minute guys, but before I do, our rockstar host for the evening Ethan Kavanagh would just like to know where his lovely girlfriend Elena Lincoln has run off to."_

Everybody in the crowd looked at each other, murmuring among themselves and asking if they knew where Elena was. Ana and Mia exchanged a glance.

" _Has_ _anybody_ _seen_ _her?_ " the DJ went on, gazing curiously around the crowd. " _No_ _one?_ _Oh_ _well, I guess we should look in the last place we saw her_ _then_."

Suddenly, one of the yellow spotlights turned so it was shining on one of the cars parked on the road near the beach. It was a red Impala, and with the bright light now shining on it, everyone could clearly see in the backseat two people getting it on. Jose and Elena quickly separated and scrambled to cover themselves, shielding their eyes from the light as they did so.

The entire crowd suddenly erupted in a resounding _OHHHHH!_ when they realized Elena had been cheating on Ethan with another guy and was outed by the DJ. Ana and Mia could only stare at what was happening, eyes wide with shock, and Ana looked over at the DJ booth to see Christian and Ethan both standing on the stage, grinning as they watched the scene unfold.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Elena Lincoln and Mr. Jose Rodriguez!_ " The DJ announced, clearly trying to contain his own laughter as everyone watched and laughed at Jose and Elena scrambling out of the car and running in opposite directions, desperately trying to cover up their nakedness. The damage was already done, however, and the entire crowd continued to laugh and boo at Jose and Elena.

" _Practice safe sex, y'all,_ " the DJ said to the crowd, and everyone laughed. " _Now let's get back to the party._ "

Next moment, the colored lights were back on and pop music began to play once again. Everyone moved back onto the dance floor, still laughing and chattering about what had just happened, and Mia turned to Ana, grinning widely.

"Still want to leave, Ana?" she asked, giggling, and Ana couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually, I think I'd like to stay. At least for a little while," she smiled, and Mia grinned.

* * *

After the excitement of Jose and Elena being publicly outed, the party actually ended up winding down in the next hour or so. Pretty soon a majority of people had made their way off the beach and began to head toward their cars, still laughing about Jose and Elena. As embarrassing as that whole situation had undoubtedly been for the two of them, Ana couldn't help but feel gratified Jose and Elena got what they deserved. Neither of them had shown their faces for the rest of the party, which was probably for the best—Ana wondered if they would even show up when school started next week.

"Aren't you glad we came tonight?" Mia asked, hooking her arm through Ana's elbow as they followed the crowds of students back to the cars.

"Honestly, yeah—I had a really good time tonight," Ana grinned. "Even that time I spent talking with Jose. He may have ended up being a jerk, but I'm glad I know that now. I guess I do have some things I need to learn about boys."

"You're one of the smartest people I know Ana, but there are just some things you can't learn out of books," Mia stated, and the two girls laughed.

"Hey Mia."

The girls turned to see Ethan Kavanagh approaching them. "Hi Ethan," Mia said, and Ana couldn't help but notice her blush as she smiled at him.

"Hey Ethan," Ana greeted him too. "How are you? I don't think we saw you after everything went down with Elena and Jose."

"I'm doing alright, although I feel like everyone wants to talk to me after they learned Elena cheated on me," Ethan said. "All the girls want to flirt with me and all the guys want to shake my hand. It's maddening!"

Ana and Mia both giggled. "Well, at least they like you still."

"True," Ethan chuckled. "By the way Mia, um… I was hoping to have a quick word with you before you left?"

"Oh… sure," Mia said, her voice unusually high-pitched. Ana didn't miss the heavy blush on her cheeks as she stepped away from Ana and followed Ethan to a less-crowded area of the beach. Ana watched them with a small smirk on her face.

"Hey Ana."

Ana turned around and smiled when she saw Christian standing in front of her. "Hi Christian." "Is Mia around?"

"She just stepped away for a minute with Ethan," Ana said, nodding toward where they had walked away. "I think he wants to ask her out."

"Seriously?" Christian asked, suddenly alarmed. He gazed over toward where Ana was looking. "So she was the girl he was talking about earlier?"

"I guess so," Ana said, turning back to him. "I think they'd make a good couple."

Christian grimaced, clearly upset over the prospect of Ethan dating his little sister. "If you say so… but if he hurts her in any way, he'll have me to answer to."

"I'm sure he knows that," Ana smiled. "And Mia knows it too… she really admires you, you know."

Christian's face softened as he smiled at Ana. "Really?"

"Of course. She always talks about how loyal and protective you are to the people you care about," Ana said, and she couldn't help but blush a little. "She's not wrong."

Christian gazed down at Ana, a smile still on his face. There was an expression in his eyes that made Ana's heart pound. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I do," Ana smiled sincerely at him. After a moment, her smile faded into a small frown. "I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier, by the waterfront… you were trying to warn me about Jose, and I should have listened to you. I really am sorry for how I acted."

"It's okay, Ana," Christian said sincerely. "I'm sorry Jose was such a jerk to you."

"It was you, wasn't it?" Ana asked. "You had asked the DJ to expose Jose and Elena hooking up in his car?"

"I paid him 20 bucks," Christian admitted, scratching the back of his head. "You were clearly upset by what he did, and since Elena had always been such a bitch to Ethan, I figured I'd do both of you guys a favor."

Smiling widely, Ana stepped forward and kissed Christian on the cheek, surprising him. "That was really sweet of you to do for us, Christian. Thank you."

Christian blinked, and after a moment he smiled widely at her. "I was happy to do it Ana," he said sincerely. He suddenly looked a bit nervous as he glanced down at his feet. "Look, um… I don't know if you were doing anything tomorrow, but I was wondering if maybe you and I could—?'

"Yes," Ana said immediately, smiling widely.

"…go to the movies," Christian finished, a grin breaking out across his face. "You want to?" "Yes, of course I would. I'd love to," Ana said, blushing bright pink.

"Cool," Christian said, his smile matching hers.

They both stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, their hearts seeming to pound in sync. As one, they slowly began to lean toward each other.

"Oh my God!"

The moment was broken by Kate Kavanagh, who they hadn't realized was standing only a few feet away, watching the two of them. Kate looked horrified as she glared between him and Ana. "Christian, how _could_ you?"

She was practically shouting, clearly wanting the people around them to hear as they walked back to their cars. Christian, undeterred, put his arm around Ana's waist.

"How could I what? Ask the girl I like out on a date?" he asked, turning to look down at Ana. Ana smiled back at him.

"B-but…!" Kate stuttered, looking angry enough to punch something. "I've been trying to get with you for _months_! How could you not know that? And we were finally starting to hit it off tonight too—how could you do this to me?!"

"We danced one song, Kate, and I've regretted it ever since," Christian said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go, Ana."

Turning away from Kate, Ana and Christian walked toward the cars, his arm around her waist and her leaning into his side. Kate was shouting something after them, but neither they nor anyone else in the vicinity could bring themselves to care what she was saying.

Ana looked up at Christian beside her, her heart warming with a powerful emotion, and she smiled when Christian looked back down at her. Without thinking, she stopped in her tracks, causing him to stop too, and she leaned up to press her lips against his. After a moment Christian responded, smiling against her lips, and Ana couldn't help but smile back, her heart beating a furious tattoo against her ribcage as she enjoyed her very first kiss with a boy.

After several blissful moments, they parted, and Christian smiled down at Ana with an emotion she knew reflected her own. Without another word or a glance back at Kate, who had seen everything, they made their way together back to the cars.

This coming school year was sure to be the best one they ever had.

 **THE END**


	5. 4 2,191 Days

**2, 191 Days**

 _ **Summary: "And eventually you'll become a memory that haunts him. A void that he will search many places to fill. A regret."**_

* * *

 _ **Christian**_

" _ **There's nothing worse than too late." ~ Charles Bukowski xxxx xxxx**_

As soon as I arrive in the foyer, I'm greeted by one of the most gentle souls' I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, Gail Jones, my housekeeper.

Someone I consider as more than just my housekeeper or friend. She's like a second mother to me.

"Welcome home, Mr. -" I give her a stern look, and she corrects herself. "Christian. Welcome home, Christian." My face softens, I don't mean to be so stern with her, but she knows that's more like family to me than anything. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour, Christian." She greets me politely with a smile on her face while cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

"Good evening, Gail." I smile brightly. "What's for dinner tonight?" I ask while I get a water bottle out of the fridge.

"Baked chicken, side of sautéed brussel sprouts, and mac and cheese." She smiles at me, and I nod.

"You're amazing, Gail. You know how much I love your mac and cheese. I'll be in my office. Please let me know when dinner is ready."

"Of course, Christian. You don't mind that Jason and I have dinner out on the patio with you, do you? I love the view."

"It's no issue, and I would love your company." This hasn't been the first time she's asked to have dinner with me along with Jason on the patio, and I'm finding it hard to say no.

Gail has seen me at my worst and helped me through it, so it's the least I could do.

I begin to tug on my tie to loosen it and head towards my at home office. "Thank you." She says right before I leave the kitchen area entirely, and I turn around and give her a small smile.

* * *

As soon as I enter my office, I guzzle down my water, put the empty bottle down, quickly pour a glass of bourbon on the rocks, and then take a seat behind my desk.

As I look up, I can't help but admire the view.

My office is filled with pictures of my very first love, the love of my life, the person I wanted to spend the rest of my days with. Every photo is filled with a different expression of her, and I remember when each one was taken.

There are various candid shots of her filling up the walls. There is one where she's smiling brighter than the sun, exuding so much happiness… you can't help but smile when you see hers. There's another where she's laughing to the point that her eyelids are closed. You can tell that she can't breathe, and one where her bottom lip is all the way out in a deep pout, and lastly one where she's just gazing off to who knows what and where, and still looks as breathtaking as ever.

These three are my absolute favorite shots of her, which is why they're much bigger than the rest.

These photos were taken early on after we finished high school together. It seems like so long ago that she looked this happy, and I was the reason behind many of those smiles, laughs, and pouts.

As I sit here with a smile on my face and lump in my throat while reminiscing on the good old days… I down my drink, enjoying the familiar burn as it goes down, and take out a pink piece of paper and a blue inked pen.

Pink was her favorite color with blue coming in at a close second.

This has been my daily ritual for 2, 191 days when I come home from the office if I come back.

I take a deep breath and begin to write.

 _My Dearest Anastasia,_

 _Let me begin with a few questions:_

 _Have you ever been so passionately in love with someone?_

 _Have you ever been so consumed by the love and goodness of someone else?_

 _Have you ever loved someone so much that you were willing to give up anything, even your own dreams, for someone else?_

 _I'd like to say that I know your answer, but I don't want to be quick and make the assumption. I'm afraid that I'll be disappointed. Even though I know, you'll never receive this letter, and I'll never get a proper answer… I fear that another's' name might come off of your lips._

 _Anyways, here's my answer: I have._

 _With you. Always with you._

 _Both of those questions? You are the answer._

 _Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one I'd want to spend the rest of my days with. I've told you this many times before, even though at times you didn't believe it._

 _Don't ask me_ how, _I just knew._

 _Maybe I didn't tell or show you enough in actions, but I hope I conveyed them adequately in my words._

 _This is letter 2,191._

 _I know because I've written to you every single day since the day I found out that you left._

 _That fateful night… six years ago._

 _The summer right before we were supposed to go to Boston and start our college years together._

 _Then it happened, it all happened so quickly._

 _Our thoughts, plans, and dreams of beginning to build our lives together washed away…_

 _It all happened after that one hot summer night I was tossing and turning because my mind wouldn't shut off after our last conversation. The one hot summer not without your body snuggled close to mine, as we stayed in our safe, perfect little bubble, just you and I._

 _The one hot summer night that I spent alone, without you, for the first time since summer began._

 _All it took was a couple of missed calls… and you were gone._

 _I've never spent a summer away from you, and for six years... I've spent so many hot summer nights without you since._

 _It killed_ me, _and still does. I miss you, baby._

 _I miss hearing your beautiful, hypnotizing blue blues. I miss your breathtaking smile. I miss touching your soft as a baby's bottom body. I miss hearing your laugh, hearing you giggle. I miss the way you would crinkle your nose when you would find something unpleasant. I miss running my hand through your chocolate brunette locks._

 _I miss everything._

 _I miss absolutely everything, anything, and all the things about you. I miss you so much that it hurts._

 _I have no idea where you are. I've spent the better part of the earlier days since you've left trying to find you, but without the proper resources, I had no luck._

 _Even your Aunt Emma wasn't of any help. I have no idea why I asked her anyways because she never really cared about you. Hell, she had no idea you up and left, what kind of family is she?_

 _For one… I'm glad you're away from her and her neglecting ways. She never cared about you the way my family did, the way I did._

 _My parents did try to help me, they couldn't believe that you left. My mom said you had such a great time, so I was confused by your disappearance, and my calls going straight to voicemail._

 _For so long, I spent my time looking for you. Even while I was away at college, I spent a lot of my time looking for you. When you didn't show up anywhere... after awhile my parents told me that I should just give up, and move on with my life. They urged me to continue on my path to follow my dreams and that I'd be able to fill the void of not having someone in my life, that when I become successful, love will show up at my doorstep. They also mentioned that you've left and for a good reason too._

 _How would they know that?_

 _They didn't know you, us, as I did. They didn't know how intense, how passionate, and how in love we were with each other._

 _They didn't know a damn thing, and it angered me that they were telling me to just give up. As if you meant nothing to me but some high school fling, but you were more than that._

 _So you know what? Despite not having the proper resources, lead or support from my family…_

 _I never gave up._

 _I wanted to make something of myself, become someone powerful, someone with money and resources so that I could find you, Anastasia. Because you belong in my arms, as much as I do yours._

 _You are my home, Anastasia._

 _Your heart and being in your arms, that's my home._

 _But now I look in the mirror, and I can see how lost I feel without you. I'm a shell of the man, the person you once knew._

 _I don't even recognize myself anymore._

 _Without you, I'm nothing. Do you understand that? I'm nothing at all, Anastasia. I don't mean to sound upset, but I'm more hurt than anything._

 _Hurt that you didn't give me a chance, hurt that you didn't reach out one more time, hurt that you didn't give a sign of where you were going._

 _Do you understand what you leaving has done to me? I'm broken._

 _A broken man._

 _A broken man who has lost the one good thing in his life, and here I am searching. Always searching, yet I have found nothing on you, that night, your disappearance, you leaving me._

 _Nothing at all._

 _I feel like I'll never find you, and in some cases… it still feels that way. I can never pinpoint my feelings; they're a fucking wreck._

 _I was so close to giving in to my dark, negative thoughts. I was so close to losing all hope and just closing myself off to everything, anyone, and just focusing on my business because I began to think you never wanted to be found._

 _Which might be true._

 _But my heart keeps on holding onto you, even when my mind tells me to just let go._

 _And my heart won so many times. I haven't and wouldn't stop looking for you. I just couldn't, as much as the thoughts in my head kept telling me to._

 _Every time I step into my office, every time I think back to the days when we were blissfully happy..._

 _My love for you burns so wildly in my heart._

 _I haven't given up because if I know anything about you; it's that you wouldn't want me to give up on something I so firmly believe in, so strongly love._

 _And I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you. And that alone... My love for you, it's all I need to keep on fighting. I believe that I will find you._

 _Therefore, I keep talking myself out of those negative, toxic thoughts. Because you know what?_

 _You're worth it._

 _You, Anastasia Rose Steele, are worth it. You are worth loving._

 _You are worth this trouble. You are worth looking for._

 _I've been holding onto my love that one day… I'll find you. One day I'll get to hug the ever living shit out of you. One day I'll see those hypnotizing baby blues, again. One day I'll hear that giggle. One day my lips will touch yours. One day we'll work things out._

 _One day… one day you'll be back in my arms again. You'll still and always be mine._

 _Until then, all I can think about are the things that I concern myself with day in and day out._

 _It continuously loops in my mind, in my heart… all the time. Why did you go?_

 _Why did you leave me?_

 _I know my initial reaction to a lot of things weren't… the best. But, you have to know that I was trying, baby._

 _I was trying to understand._

 _I wanted to build a future for us, have us set for life. You know I don't like doing things unplanned._

 _I wanted to build a life where you wouldn't have to worry about a thing, and you can continue to do what you love to do. Whatever you chose that to be._

 _Ultimately, I wanted to… Make something of myself and give you the time to make something of yourself._

 _But that didn't happen between us._

 _Life hit us hard, and with a hurdle that we couldn't just get over so quickly. I thought I explained everything to you perfectly._

 _What I needed, what I thought we needed._

 _I don't know what caused you to leave without an explanation. I wasn't ignoring you intentionally, but I needed time._

 _The time that I asked for, time that you agreed with._

 _But now I regret it. I regret not answering the phone; I regret putting myself first, my needs first. I regret not thinking about you while all I could think about was the future I wanted to build for us._

 _As I stare at our picture, the picture of us staring so intensely into each other eyes, me cracking your face, and you in that beautiful blue dress… it stands proudly on my office table. It's one of my_ favorite _pictures of us. It was the moment we confessed our love to each other._

 _And as I stare at this picture, I can't help but wonder… Are you okay?_

 _Are you healthy?_

 _Are you safe?_

 _Are you even… alive?_

 _I've asked myself that a lot, you know? Are you even alive? For the simple fact that I cannot find you and it's been six years even with all the goddamned resources in the fucking world._

 _So after college, I took my trust fund and followed my dreams. I opened up my business, Grey Enterprise Holdings, GEH for short. I became a millionaire within the first couple of years, and now I'll become a billionaire soon if the contracts I'm working on goes according to plan._

 _I'm doing this for you, baby._

 _I followed my dreams, and it felt selfish doing so. But I needed to because all of this, it's all for you. I still wanted to build my future, our future._

 _But you're not here to see that. And I want you to be._

 _I want you here, in my arms, telling me how proud you are of me._

 _I want you to be the person I go home to after a long day at the office with a smile on her face, and arms wide open._

 _I want you to be proud of the man who can provide for you, a man who has built something for himself, a man that you might be able to recognize._

 _So for those things to become a reality… I built a team, a team to find you, baby. Because I need you._

 _I need you like I need air to breathe._

 _They know that finding you is of utter importance to me. They eat, breathe, and sleep trying to find you. Also, hoping one day you'll slip up, and we'd get even a small tip of where you are._

 _So, I hired the best of the best to look for you, find you, and bring you home… bring you back to me._

 _I never told you their names or anything about them in my previous letters to you, and I think you should know._

 _I want to personally give them a big check and thank them once they find you, Anastasia._

 _Alexander Welch - He's the man who's been on the search for you… he can't find a damn thing, and he's considered the best alongside his buddy, Barney. They're both geniuses._

 _Many, many times I've thought of firing their asses because they've let me down so much with the news of not being able to find you._

 _You know my hot-headed temper, baby._

 _But they're still here, under my payroll, so don't worry. I haven't fired them… yet._

 _Jason Taylor - My close protection officer… he told me to never lose out on hope. He's one of the reasons why I keep on holding on. He said he knows that… That one day, I'll find you._

 _He believes that one day we'll be able to talk, and I'll be able to explain. I do hope we have that, that you give me a chance._

 _He knew of your dad. He knew how important you were to him. I won't lie, part of the reason why I hired him was_ because of _that piece of knowledge. But the thing is… he doesn't know much. He doesn't know where you would go or who you would turn to._

 _Which is no_ help.

 _Unless the fucker isn't looking hard enough or asking the right questions to the right people._

 _Chase Reynolds - Who is also one of my close protection officers. He even knew your dad and is helping out Welch and Barney with trying to find you._

 _This is my team of men, the ones who I hope can one day lead me back to you._

 _Maybe right now is best to mention that Mia apologizes. But she tells me every day. I can see how much this affects her, the guilt that eats at her._

 _She told me how she didn't show up to the girls' night that was planned, and I was furious with her._

 _I wish she went, so she knew exactly what happened, and why you decided to leave so abruptly. Was it something that was said? What is something that was done? Did you not enjoy yourself?_

 _Why did you go there anyway, baby?_

 _Why didn't you tell me, and why did I have to find out from someone else?_

 _Now Mia has been beating herself up for six years. She wishes she showed up; she wishes that she was there to be with you, to have fun, and support you._

 _Like she was supposed to do in the first place, as your friend._

 _She said you needed that 'girls night out,' but she wishes she didn't receive a call from one of her girlfriend's and_ canceled _on that girls night with you._

 _Trust me when I tell you that I was absolutely furious with her. She was a shitty friend to you, and she's sorry._

 _But don't fret, baby. I've forgiven Mia for the wrong she's done. I hope that if she ever gets a chance to apologize, you will too. It took me some time, but I know she didn't mean to do anything intentionally. She had no idea that it would result in all of this._

 _I just wish that she would have at least told me that night._

 _God, there are so many things that I wish for… and things could have turned out differently._

 _But now, there's nothing I can do._

 _I can't go back in time and change the events which caused this to happen. I can't go back and make myself present, make myself answer the phone._

 _But I wish I could. Enough with the heavy…_

 _I have a charity event happening on my boat called 'The Rose' in a couple of months. I named it after you, baby. My beautiful, delicate Rose. It's going to be one of the biggest charity events that Seattle has seen, no less, on a boat. You have to be on the exclusive guest list to attend and willing to spend._

 _I wish you would be there… all dressed in a beautiful gown with your hair pinned up, dazzling people with your personality, shy smile, and being that woman under my arms._

 _My woman._

 _I'd be the luckiest son of a bitch alive to have you be my date. There's no one else for me, and no one has been._

 _I'm doing this charity for the Seattle General Hospital's children's ward. I'm raising money for them because I know how much it would mean to you. You loved visiting the children's ward when the time was given, so this is a personal one for me… and I'm doing it for you._

 _My mom has been supporting me so much with this event. She knows how much it means to me. She has worked tirelessly trying to get everything perfect. And guess what? She won yet again, another reward. She's been recognized so many times for her selflessness towards her patients… I'm so proud of her. I'm sure you would be too._

 _Elena Lincoln has been helping my mom a lot with this as well, and I'm so thankful. Those two are such a pair when it comes to things like this. I know how much they love the children's ward… like you did. I don't know if I could have done this without them._

 _I know that if you were here, you'd be just as thankful to see the hard work they put in for this event. Even Elliot has been so supportive and helpful with this project of mine. By the way, Elliot opened up his own construction business called, Grey Construction. You should be proud. The goofball that he is… he can manage his own. He's doing great, and my dad is handling both legal aspects for our businesses._

 _Anyways, I wish I could send this letter to you… wherever you are. I wish I could be with you, just like before. I crave you in the most innocent ways. I wish I had the privilege of kissing you on the forehead, cheek, or on your hand. I wish I could send you a sweet text message good night or even hear your voice on the other side of the phone line, telling me about your day. I crave telling you how beautiful you are, even when you don't feel like it, even when you're at your worst. I crave seeing you smile, seeing you blush, and seeing you… be you._

 _I wish I could be next to you. God, how I feel like I fucking fool, an asshole, the worst person in the world for not answering those calls._

 _Would we be here?_

 _Would we be in this predicament?_

 _I wish you could read this, even if I were never to get a reply. At least I would know that you received something of mine._

 _But… All wishes can't come true. And it fucking hurts to know that._

 _I'll write you again tomorrow, baby. I love you, Anastasia Rose Steele._

 _I hope you'll have the heart to forgive me. That our love will prevail._

 _That you'll give me a second chance, us a second chance to try again. And that you'll still have me as yours, baby._

 _Laters, baby. Christian Grey_

As I'm folding the letter, getting choked up in the moment… a knock at the door startles me.

"Mr. Grey, dinner is ready." I didn't realize I've been writing for that long. I clear my throat, "thank you, Gail. I'll be out soon."

"Okay, Mr. Grey."

I put the letter in an envelope and kiss the front of it and put it in the box full of letters to her. I sigh, as I open the door of my office and head to the patio to yet again have another dinner with my staff.


	6. 5 Bad Liar

**Admin Note: Bad Liar.**

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, this entry is no longer available as the author has decided to pull out due to continuing edits being made to the story. We wish this author all the best for the future and hope to read more from her soon!

Sincerely, FSOG Fanfic Followers Admin Team.


	7. 6 Hot In The City

**Hot in The City**

 **Summary: Christian and Anastasia have history. The whole dominant / submissive deal didn't work out for them and they parted ways amicably because of Christians reluctance to ever have children. Six years of keeping their distance and their paths cross again while Seattle is amid a heatwave. Will time and circumstance be enough to bring a fresh perspective on what it is they want out of life? AU. Set in 2017. Christian is 34 and Ana 27 years old.**

 ** _Song credit – Billy Idol, Hot in The City._**

 ** _All usual disclaimers apply._**

* * *

 **Seattle General, early hours of August 3** **rd** **, 2017**

The humidity was intolerable, and the air felt almost thick with pollen. The temperature had been high for three weeks now and was set to peak in the next 24 hours, before giving way to the much-needed rain. Even at this early hour the heat was relentless and oppressive. Seattle was in meltdown.

The ER had been verging on a Code Black the whole day. As the dehydrated-masses got rehydrated and discharged, the situation had eased a little. There had been a lot of severe sun burns and a couple of referrals to the specialist burns unit at Harborview.

As day turned to night the clientele shifted towards the drunk and uncoordinated. The people of Seattle did not cope well with heat. They certainly didn't appear to grasp how much more impact a belly-full of alcohol would have if they were dried out to begin with. With just a couple of over-the-top youngsters recovering from a charcoal lavage and a rule-out fracture in curtain three, they were back to 'treating and streeting' for the most part. Peace finally descended on the emergency room.

"Ana, I got you a cold juice. Dean has a handle on those two" she gestured toward the board "and curtain two is ready for home, come sit while it's quiet."

Ana was beat. She glanced at the clock and scowled, disappointed but unsurprised to see it was almost four in the morning. At well over half way through her sixteen-hour rotation she was a hot, sweaty and short-tempered mess. It felt like the end was nowhere in sight. "Thanks, Grace." she called. "Hey, it's calmer now and you should have finished hours ago… why don't you take off?"

"Carrick's at a conference this week and I never sleep well in the heat. I may as well stay… in any case your attending is still covering upstairs and it's only a matter of time before we fill up again."

"You know I'm a third year Resident now, right? A few more months and I'll be running this ER. I can cope for a half hour 'til Susan gets back down here; I'll have her paged if I need her."

"I know you're more than capable, darling. Even so, if something occured and you were not appropriately supervised I'd never forgive myself." Grace sighed deeply. "I'll put some music on and kick back in front of the air con for a half hour." Grace raised her voice a little. "You should _all_ join me before we get the next round of 'lobsters' and 'drunk and fells' through the door."

"Amen to that!" called Hannah in response as she emerged from curtain two. She was followed by a sheepish looking teen and her parents - their latest discharge. The beautiful African-American nursing aide fanned herself with the chart as she made her way back to the admit desk. Ana looked on, enviously admiring how well put together Hannah looked while all around her were melting.

Over at the nurses' station Grace poured herself into the wheeled desk chair. She scooted backwards toward the admit desk where the old stereo sat. Puffing out another deep breath and running her fingers through her short blonde hair she smiled at Frankie as she wheeled herself alongside him. Frankie sat in his regular spot manning the admit desk and dispatch radio. He was sporting his usual shirt and tie despite the heat and early hour. Grace wheeled around him, stretching back to reach the stereo without having to go to the effort of getting up. She flipped through a few stations before settling on one and finally relaxing in to the chair. She exhaustedly pushed herself just a little further along the admit desk before kicking off her clogs and propping her swollen ankles up next to the almost empty rack of charts and the maxed-out air con unit.

"Katie's about to be on the radio" she called out to Ana.

" _You're listening to Eagle News, the time is 4am and it is hot, hot, hot. I am Bob Bowden. Before I take you through the next hour with all your best heatwave requests here is Kate Kavanaugh with the news headlines."_

" _Thank you, Bob. The top story this hour is the continuing heat wave sweeping the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures are rocketing from northern California through Oregon and Washington State. We have received confirmation of record breaking highs yesterday with the mercury topping out at 104 degrees at Portland International Airport. Even the lows are high. We are seeing a record highest low temperature of 76 overnight tonight here in Seattle."_

" _The heat looks set to continue through tomorrow with relief expected in the form of thunderstorms and a drop in temperatures by Sunday morning. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for western Washington and Oregon with highs tomorrow forecast at 104 in Seattle, while Portland could reach 107 Fahrenheit._

" _Medical and meteorological experts alike are warning that the heat and humidity coupled with the high pollen could prove to be the perfect storm for those with allergies and respiratory conditions. Seattle officials are advising that people affected stay hydrated, take all medication as prescribed, and remain indoors wherever possible with doors and windows closed._

" _For those who do need to be out and about the City has set up more than 30 cooling centers in air-conditioned libraries and senior centers. They will have cold packs and serve complementary iced water. People are also being encouraged to use more than two dozen wading pools and spray parks made available to help combat the heat._

" _The first death attributable to the heat wave was confirmed just a few hours ago. Although the sixty-six year old male victim is yet to be named it is believed that he passed away due to a pre-existing condition which was exacerbated by the current climate."_

" _In other news tonight, there has been an officer involved shooting in Cedar Mill, Oregon. First reports are that officers were attending a domestic disturbance when shots were fired. We will bring you more on that as we have it."_

" _In business news, Seattle powerhouse GEH has confirmed the pending acquisition of shipping giant TSBC. The Taiwanese Ship Building Company will see the worth of GEH potentially doubling overnight when contracts are finalised on Monday. Locally, GEH has just completed the hostile takeover of floundering publishing house SIP. Speaking yesterday GEH owner, Christian Grey, pledged to secure jobs through the implementation of a turnaround strategy."_

" _SIP is a small publishing house with the potential to take the market by storm. We have some fantastic up and coming authors. The development and marketing plan I have approved is strong. Coupled with our technological ingenuity I have every faith that the team at SIP will have a real impact in shaping the publishing landscape for the future."_

" _Finally, in sports news, as the Seahawks limbered up for the pre-season it was announced that they will face at least their first four regular season games without first choice quarterback Spencer Willis who has reportedly been scheduled for a shoulder surgery later this week._

" _I am Kate Kavanaugh and this is Eagle News."_

" _Thank you, Kate. We will keep you up to date with the latest on the heatwave but for now I'm taking you through the night with your selection of scorching hot tracks to keep you cool… To kick us off we have Ana at Seattle Gen who has requested we keep the ER rockin' with some Billy Idol. You're smashing it down there guys, keep it up. This is Bob Bowden on Eagle Radio and you are Hot. In. the. City._

Ana chuckled and rolled her eyes at the song choice as she made her way to the admit desk. She pulled out her phone and texted her room mate and best friend.

 **You're taking the piss, Kavanaugh. Shocking song choice.**

She hadn't had chance to pocket the phone when she received her response. **Plenty more where that came from. Just trying to keep you awake, Ana** **.**

After completing her orders for the one patient remaining under her care, Ana returned the chart to the rack and leaned on the desk next to Grace's feet. "So, GEH… wow, that's some acquisition. Christian's doing well, huh?" She picked up the cold bottle of juice and took a long chug.

"He is in some respects, dear. I wish that things had been different between you and him. It's such a…" Grace was interrupted by Ana's sudden coughing fit. She caught her breath and then gagged a little, slamming the bottle down. "Urgh! Grace, what the hell did you get me?"

 _It's hot here at night, lonely, black and quiet_

 _On a hot summer night_

"Is it not nice? It was all they had left in the canteen. It's some fancy berry and mint tea thing."

"Well it took a minute for the flavour to hit but, hell that's bad!" Ana shook her head as a shiver went down her spine at the mere thought of consuming any more. "There's a reason it was left over. I guess cold and wet should work in this heat but that's just cruel and unusual."

 _Don't be afraid of the world we made  
On a hot summer night_

Grace chuckled out "Surely it can't be that bad, dear" and took a drink from her own bottle. She was soon pulling the same disgusted face Ana had perfected just a moment earlier. Ana's belly laughing was only stifled when nurse Carly appeared alongside Hannah and started to belt out the final chorus of Kate's song choice. _"… then you know that it's hot in the city, hot in the city tonight, tonight"._

Both girls were tone deaf but Ana, Grace and Frankie all found themselves laughing and singing along with the repeat. _"… hot in the city, hot in the city toni…"_ The ER chorus ceased abruptly as the radio crackled to life. "Seattle Gen ER this is King County Dispatch. We have a 34-year-old male in severe respiratory distress. Resus bed required. Are you cleared to accept? Over."

Grace and Ana both nodded in Frankie's direction. "Dispatch this is Seattle Gen ER. We are cleared to accept in Resus. Over."

"Roger that Seattle Gen. Seattle FD Medic One has an ETA of four minutes. Dispatch out."

The ER was a hive of activity once again, the team suddenly serious and working together in a well-choreographed performance to prepare the Resus room. Supplies readied and machinery checked the team were poised and ready to swing into action.

Gloved, gowned and ready to go, Ana, Grace and Carly made their way to the ambulance bay to await their patient.

* * *

 **Escala Penthouse, Downtown Seattle, early hours of August 3** **rd** **, 2017**

Christian looked at the clock for what must have been the eighth time in the last hour. 1.27am. Giving up on the idea of sleep altogether he reached for the remote beside his bed and cranked up the air conditioning and the ambient lighting. He felt the now familiar itching in his nose and the rawness of his throat. "Fuck sake" he grumbled to himself as he reached for a tissue and sneezed right on cue.

With a vague plan to work and then hit the gym for a couple of hours to avoid disturbing Taylor at such an ungodly hour, Christian made his way to the ensuite bathroom to relieve himself. He washed and dried his hands, scrubbing them over his stubbled face as he examined himself in the mirror. His mind occupied with thoughts of how tired he looked these days, Christian padded back to the bed room to pull on a tank top and sweats. As he made his way toward the door he glanced, as always, at the large photograph of a carefree and laughing Ana Steele. Even after all these years it still hung front and centre above his bed. "Laters, Baby" he mumbled as he switched off the light.

As Christian moved toward his office he felt a little tightness in his chest, he likened it to feeling as though couldn't take a good breath. He made a fist with his right hand and banged himself in the centre of the chest a couple of times before taking another slow deliberate intake of air. Having made an extra effort to relax his shoulders and expand his lungs, Christian's exhale was followed abruptly by a coughing fit and a slight wheeze. "Fucking pollen" he grumbled, then coughed again to clear his throat before retrieving a glass of juice and a dose of diphenhydramine from the kitchen.

Once seated Christian awakened his computer and entered the password. He checked the clock, which hung next to another portrait of Ana on his office wall, before deciding it was a good time to catch up with the progress of his team in London. GEH had provided a small but top of the line R & D team to assist a London-based clean energy tech company he had recently invested in.

Throughout the call Christian felt a little winded. He hung up and sighed, knocking back the rest of the freshly squeezed juice. After reviewing the latest financials for the TSBC deal he sorted through some emails and tapped out a message to Andrea checking the travel arrangements for his trip on Monday. Time passed more quickly than Christian realised, his next glance at the clock was at a quarter to four.

Despite the air conditioning Christian still felt like he couldn't breathe in the penthouse. He ran his fingers through his unruly hair and moved to the great room. He set about sliding open the floor to ceiling glass panels to let in some cool air only to discover that there was none to be had. Hit by the oppressive nature of the night Christian thought of Roz's partner, Gwen. A Floridian by birth, he recalled her describing exiting MCO as "walking into a wall of heat". Florida was one of the few states Christian was yet to visit but at 3.50am this Thursday morning in Seattle he was sure that he understood exactly what she meant.

Christian picked up the decanter of scotch momentarily before replacing it on the side table and grabbing his running shoes instead. He figured if he couldn't sleep he might as well run. Ear buds firmly in place he opted to stream the local radio station and exited the elevator in the lobby just in time to catch Kings of Leon. Everything it seemed was a reminder of Anastasia; Christian rued the day he let her walk away without putting up more of a fight. He turned up the volume and ignoring the ache in his chest he lengthened his stride and headed for Pike Place.

Christian turned onto Stewart and maintained his pace. By the time he reached 3rd Avenue the ache had become a burning sensation, like his lungs were on fire. Putting it down to the conditions and the never-ending hay fever he pushed on.

By the time Katherine Kavanaugh read the news and played a segment from his press conference Christian had a pronounced wheeze, he felt out of breath but at the same time not… he could get air in, but it was an effort to get it out again. He slowed his pace a little but continued across 1st Avenue thinking about Kavanaugh and Elliot. He didn't much care for her, but he didn't appreciate the way Elliot treated her either. He was thankful that she had been there for Ana after they separated. She was a good friend.

He heard the song request from Ana and rolled his eyes at the terrible choice. Despite having slowed Christian was finding it increasingly difficult to catch his breath. He turned on to Pike Place and broke into a coughing fit so severe it rent the air from his lungs. It was sudden and severe enough that it dropped him to his knees. Pushing his arms out in front of him to save his face Christian felt something give in his wrist. He didn't have time to concern himself with the damage before his vision started to blur.

Finally, willing to admit to himself that something was very wrong here, Christian pulled out his headphones and hit the speed dial for Taylor. He was too breathless to speak when the call connected on the second ring. Dropping the mobile to the ground next to him he lay prostrate and gasping for breath on the sidewalk.

His vision swam in and out of focus as he lay looking up at Ana's apartment block. He thought to himself how apt it would be if his life were to end here, outside of her home, after all he hadn't really lived a day since she left. The last thing he recalled before passing out was hearing Taylor's concerned voice making the arrangements for an ambulance and the first strains of Billy Idol.

 _It's hot here at night, lonely, black and quiet_

 _On a hot summer night  
Don't be afraid of the world we made  
On a hot summer night_

* * *

 **Escala Penthouse Annexe Apartment, Downtown Seattle, early hours of August 3rd, 2017**

Jason Taylor was a man of routine. Each day he awoke at 4am, listening to the news on the radio before following his morning ritual. Up, shaved, dressed in sweats, coffee made and then down to business. Weapons checked and holstered, perimeter check completed, debriefed by the overnight team, scan of the security feeds and finally a 5.30am check in with Welch, Sawyer and the GEH team for any office security, planning, covert activity and active threat issues to be addressed.

The 30-minute time cap Jason applied to the daily conference call served several purposes. It kept the team sharp and focussed on the key information, it prevented timewasting and unnecessary chit chat and, most importantly, it ensured that he was on time for his early morning run with Grey.

The fitness obsession had dropped off somewhat when Grey had been seeing Miss Steele but, since she'd been gone, almost six years now, Grey insisted upon it every morning. Whatever the weather the two of them would complete an eight to ten-mile stretch. The route was varied daily at Taylor's insistence, but Grey would ensure that each day he passed by her apartment in Pike Place.

This day began just like any other. The 4am alarm sounded, the radio clicking on just in time for the newscast. He listened to Miss Kavanaugh and the snippet from the GEH press conference. As Kavanaugh described the Seahawks woes Jason swung his feet out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He took a piss and shaved quickly with his electric razor before pulling on his running gear. Next stop was the coffee machine. Jason had just switched it on to brew and pulled out his to-go cup as his cell began to ring.

Recognising the tone as Grey, Jason wondered what the latest crisis could possibly be. He was fairly satisfied that all the loose ends were tied up in preparation for their trip to Taiwan next week. Jason abandoned all hope of coffee and was already making his way into the adjoining apartment when he picked up on the second ring.

"Good Morning Mr Grey" Taylor greeted. He paused awaiting a question or instruction but none came. "Grey, are you there?" Taylor asked as he set off at pace to the security office. "Mr Grey? Sir, can you hear me?" All that came back down the line was a wheeze and a cough followed by gasping and the sound of Billy Idol. Taylor burst through the door to the security office to discover it was the same track playing on the radio there. He realised it must be streaming through Grey's 'phone.

"Reynolds do you have a location on Grey?"

Reynolds nodded his head and clicked on the security tracker feed. "He went for a run about fifteen minutes ago. Here he is, still at Miss Steele's place. He's been stopped there for a few minutes."

"Get a bus and meet me there. Call the team. He's in trouble." Taylor took off at a sprinters pace. He kept the call connected all the way and continued trying to raise Christian. "Mr Grey, I'm coming to you. Just keep breathing. Help is on the way."

Taylor took the express elevator to the lobby and pounded the tarmac at record pace. As he rounded the corner to Pike Place he could see a figure slumped on the floor. His gut twisted as it became clear that figure was indeed the Boss. He did a quick sweep of the scene and found no apparent danger. Kneeling over Christian he checked his airway then looked, listened and felt for signs of life. Relieved to hear sirens in the distance he determined that Christian was thankfully breathing, though his breaths were coming rapid and shallow, he was clammy and there was a quiet but still discernible wheeze. Taylor checked his pulse and frowned at the rapid rhythm. "Jesus, fuck."

Certain that the Boss was in the midst of a severe asthma attack there was little more he could do right now apart from offer reassurances and look out for any further deterioration. Taylor got down on the floor propping Christian against him in a semi sitting position. Christian's head lay back on Taylor's chest. "Just breath with me, Sir. Hang in there." Taylor had never been happier to see an ambulance arrive than at this very moment. It was followed immediately by two Audi Q7's.

Taylor handed over the little information he knew to the Medic One crew and stepped back to instruct the team. One Audi along with Prescott was swiftly dispatched to Bellevue to collect Elliot and Mia Grey. Reynolds remained with Taylor and was tasked with securing Doctor Trevelyan-Grey once they arrived at Seattle General.

Taylor made a call to Sawyer while the crew went to work on the boss. Luke Sawyer had, for the last six years, been head of covert security. His best successes to date were apprehending Leila Williams before she had a second chance to come at Anastasia and gaining a prosecution against Jack Hyde, a crazed medical student who, unbeknownst to Ana, had been stalking her. Sawyer told him what he already suspected – that Doctor Steele would be on duty tonight at the Emergency Room.

The medics were keen to scoop and run given Christian's condition; Taylor was called forward to accompany him after what felt like mere seconds. The crew had impressed him. Working quickly, they had him attached to a monitor and oxygen already. He was strapped to the gurney and wheeled into the back of the ambulance. Once en route the medic continued to take various readings and administer medication accordingly.

Pads were applied to Christians badly cut and bruised knees and an inflatable splint now encased his right wrist – Taylor hadn't even noticed these additional injuries in his panic at Christian's respiratory distress.

The medic provided a running commentary of what he was doing and why. Taylor felt sure this was as much for his own benefit as to be sure of informed consent. That said, Grey did seem to be a little more alert now that some of the medications were taking effect.

Jason also noted that with increased awareness came increased wheeziness and panic. He maintained his quiet presence, understanding that it was most helpful for him to pay attention and keep out of the way. Taking in the look of panic on Grey's face as they approached the ER he could not help but lean forward and grip the Boss' good hand in reassurance.

* * *

 **Seattle General, 4.15am, August 3** **rd** **, 2017**

The ambulance pulled up to the bay followed closely by a dark Audi SUV. At the same time the Medic One crew opened the rear doors of the ambulance a large, suited man appeared next to Grace. She felt the warmth and pull of a strong hand under her arm guiding her away. A deep voice she vaguely recognised resonated in her ear. "Please come with me, Doctor Grey." She opened her mouth to object, but her protests died on her lips as she saw her youngest son being wheeled out on the gurney. He was strapped down and attached to a monitor. An oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, but Grace could still see his pale cyanosed appearance.

"This way please Doctor Grey. Mr and Miss Grey are en route from Bellevue, they'll be with you soon." The voice registered this time as Reynolds, one of Christians security team. He began to walk moving a wailing Grace along with him. "My boy! My boy! Please... Ana please!"

Reynolds 6'2" rock solid frame shifted slowly but surely toward the main entrance and the privacy of the family room which had already been secured. "Doctor Grey, Doctor Grey, please, come this way. They will take good care of him Ma'am."

Ana looked on dismayed for what felt like a lifetime as the scene played out in front of her. In reality only seconds had passed. Grace had been taken away from the situation because she was too close. Ana didn't know if she was any better placed to deal with this than Grace had been. Anyone who knew Ana well understood that this man in front of her gasping for air, was the love of her life. It slayed her to see him fight for his every breath.

The stoic and ever-present Taylor was at Christians side ready to assist in any way possible. Grey had a firm grip of his hand and looked terrified. Taylor looked at Ana reassuringly and gave her a wink and a smile of encouragement. Ana found her uncertainty receding as she stepped up to meet her patient. This is what she did best, he was in her domain now. She was the dominant force here and his life depended on her. Ana knew with certainty that there was nobody on this earth she would fight harder to save.

"Ok, give me the bullet."

"This is Christian Grey, 34-year-old male. Acute respiratory distress of recent onset. No know history although his security reports a recent chesty cough of three weeks duration and hay fever symptoms. Patient was out running when he collapsed."

"Classic asthma symptoms present at initial assessment." The trolley clattered its way through the ER doors and toward Resus. "Pronounced wheeze on inspiration and expiration, increased work of breathing with diminished breath sounds bilaterally. Tachycardic at 126, resps 38, BP of 140 over 89, down from an initial 157 over 99. Sats were at 92 on room air, increased to 94 on administration of nebulized Albuterol and eight liters per minute of O2."

"Solumedrol given in the field?"

"No, Ma'am. We were only four minutes out and he seemed to be responding to the bronchodilators. Top to toe revealed bruising and lacerations to both knees and a potential Colles' fracture to the right wrist. Knees are wrapped, wrist is air splinted but not reduced. Capillary refill indicates no vascular involvement."

"Ok, thanks guys, we have it from here. Is everyone set? Ready, steady, slide."

As the team shifted Christian easily onto the trolley Ana hit her stride and began to organise her staff. "Hannah, page Susan please, I need her down here. Carly, can we get him on our monitors please, let me have some up to date numbers as soon as you have them. Dean, can you get me a blood gas kit please and then prepare a dose of nebulised Albuterol and Atrovent via CPAP."

As everyone completed their tasks Ana stepped up to the head of the gurney to speak directly to Christian for the first time. Her heart broke for him. He was wide eyed and fearful. In that moment she saw the terrified four-year-old he had talked about when he explained why he could never be a father.

"Mr Grey, I'm your doctor. Do you know where you are?" A faint nod of his head was the only response.

"Mr Grey, do you recognise me?" Another nod.

"Christian I'm going to help you. I know that it's hard to breathe right now. I _am_ going to help you to breathe more easily but I need you to relax and cooperate, okay? My team and I are going to need to touch your chest and back to examine you. I'll keep it as brief as I can, I promise."

Christian frantically shook his head and wheezed "Only you".

"Okay, okay, only me. Only me. I need to listen to your chest now. Let's get this over with."

He nodded briefly before screwing his eyes up and resting his head back.

Ana gingerly placed her stethoscope, mindful of the 'no go' areas. "We still have diminished breath sounds bilaterally. He's moving next to no tidal volume. Christian I'm going to change your mask to one which will be a better fit. It will allow me to give you pressurised oxygen along with some medication to open up your lungs a little. Is that okay?"

Again, a slight nod of his head.

Carly began to call out numbers to the team. "BP 145 over 92. Still tachy at 136. Sats back down to 92."

"Dean is going to set you up with that mask, okay? I need to get a blood gas. Christian, this is going to hurt. I will be as fast and gentle as I can but there is no way to do this without some pain. Taylor, you can keep a hold of his hand for me but I need you to just turn your hand over so I can get in there to the veins."

Ana drew the arterial blood gas and immediately handed off the sample for testing. She applied a small band aid and asked Taylor to apply pressure to the site of the puncture wound before running her fingers through Christian's hair. To her surprise he leaned into the contact. "You're doing well, Christian. Just breathe with me. Look at me Christian, breathe with me. You need to slow it down some more. You can do this. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Hannah can you please strip back the dressings? I need to I examine Mr Grey's knees. Dean I want two lines in please."

"Ana, why two lines? What's your plan here?" Susan had returned as soon as she received the page but was happy to watch from the side lines for as long as Ana appeared to be coping.

Ana responded at the same time as she began to examine Christian's right wrist, checking the capillary refill. "Two lines, simultaneous administration of Solumedrol and Magnesium Sulfate by infusion."

"Okay, that's a good plan. Need any help?"

"You could page ortho and get me a portable x-ray in here."

"Consider it done." Susan made the necessary calls and then went in search of the blood gas result.

"Solumedrol is up, Ana. I'm about to hang the Magnesium. Single bag, twenty-minute infusion?"

"Please, Dean. Give me some more numbers please, Carly."

"Pulse 122, Sats 94, BP 130 over 94. He's responding but slowly. He's becoming a little agitated."

Susan burst back into Resus. "Ana, blood gases are back. pH of 7. Oxygen is down, CO2 elevated. He's in status. We need to act now before he suffers irreversible damage. He's fighting the CPAP and his heart rate is still too high to consider Epi. Carly can you get me an ET kit? We need to intubate."

"My patient can hear you, Susan. Let's see what he wants to do here. Taylor, are you able to advise of any advance directives Mr Grey may have in place? I need to know…" Ana was stopped mid-sentence by Christian grabbing her hand.

"No… no t-tube."

"Christian your anxiety at being touched is increasing your respirations further. You're becoming agitated and confused because of the build up of Carbon Dioxide in your lungs. Intubation is going to become a necessity if we can't turn this around quickly. You are heading toward respiratory arrest and I'm not about to let you die in my Resus because you're being a pig-headed control freak."

"No… tube."

"There is one other thing I can try. If that doesn't work I will _need_ to tube you. We are running out of options here."

"Any… thing." Christian squeezed her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "L-love… you."

Ana blinked back her tears and squeezed his hand in return. She drew in a deep breath and started to give her orders. "Ketamine. Bolus of two milligrams per kilo, infusion of 2mg per kilo per hour. Let's knock him out and see if we can get a handle on this without the anxiety being a factor. Can we chase up that x-ray, I want to see what's going on with his chest. Carly, Hannah, those knees can be irrigated and sutured as necessary. Now would be a good time for Ortho to come realign this wrist, too."

Susan spoke up again. "They're here. And I approve, a good confident approach, Ana. Take five and then update the family. I'll cover you."

"Ana, Ketamine bolus is on board."

Ana moved back to the head of the bed. "You're going to feel a little strange now, Christian. You'll be sedated but not asleep. Just relax and trust me. If this works we can avoid tubing you. I'm giving you an hour to turn this around and then we are out of time." Christian nodded as his eyes began to flutter. She leaned down to his ear and whispered "I love you, too. Always have, always will."

* * *

 **Seattle General, Critical Care Unit, 3pm August 3rd, 2017**

Anastasia made her way, dishevelled and exhausted, through the doors of Critical Care. The ER had hit Code Black at 7.42am, just 18 minutes short of her scheduled finish time. There had been a pile up on the I5 and in the absence of Grace, Ana had been lumped with an extended shift to cover.

Although she would never have begrudged her much-admired mentor the time with her desperately ill son, she couldn't help but feel envious. Ana would have given anything to have remained with Christian when he was finally deemed stable enough to be moved upstairs.

Around 9am Ana had been reacquainted with Luke Sawyer. She suspected that he kept tabs on her on a regular basis and was unsurprised and relieved when he assured her that he'd be down with hourly updates for her. Though informative – a verbatim recounting of Christian's hourly review – the updates did not quell Ana's need to be in closer proximity than she was.

Once inside the unit Ana made her way to the nurses' station to check the board. Christian had been allocated a private room. As she approached it was abundantly clear where he was. The Grey family were visiting two at a time and the remainder were flanked by security in the nearest waiting area. Lacking the energy to face a barrage of questions from all of them Ana turned to her right and was instead greeted by Taylor at his post outside of Christian's room.

"How is he, Taylor?"

"He's doing better now. Thanks to you they haven't needed to use the vent. They backed off the Ketamine about an hour ago so he's expected to wake any time in the next couple of hours."

"Who's with him now?" Ana was desperate to be with him again but at the same time she knew that she would not be treated any differently because of her position in the hospital. Two to a bed meant two to a bed.

"Elliot and Miss Kavanaugh are in there right now. I have instructions to remove anyone present to give you priority visiting." She couldn't help but notice Taylor's smirk as he said this.

"Kavanaugh… Kate? What? Instructions from whom?"

"Yes, Ma'am, Kate. Elliot contacted her earlier in distress and she came to him. Instructions from Dr Trevelyan Grey, Ma'am. You are to be granted visitation above all others, herself included." Taylors smirk had become a full blown smile now. "She assumed after your reconnection earlier that things were once again 'on'… as they of course should be."

"And who, pray tell, advised her of our "reconnection" earlier? And drop the Ma'am, I know I've aged but I'm still not ninety. Ana or Doc works just fine for me."

"That would be me… Doc. Go on in, he's due another assessment shortly. You know he'd want you to be there." Ana nodded and made her way through the door a smug looking Taylor held open.

Elliot and Kate made way for her as expected. Kate left Ana with a hug and kiss and a promise to return with a strong coffee and food. Elliot was somewhat more profound and cried all over her scrubs before thanking her for saving Christian's life.

Ana was about at her limit for human interaction today. The nurse keeping watch at the foot of the bed seemed to recognise the look because she merely smiled kindly and went back to her record keeping.

Ana's body craved food and sleep and was at a point where she would not function much longer without both of those things. More than that though, her soul craved the emotional connection she had with this man; a connection she had not shared with anyone either before or since Christian.

She perched next to Christian's bed taking his good hand in hers. She ignored the niggling desire to go through his chart with the understanding that this was no longer just a professional following up on a patient. As such she would wait for the next review and grill whomever had been put in charge of his care.

Ana took her time to examine his features. The CPAP was gone now, replaced with nasal prongs. Without the anxiety cloaking his face he looked more like _her_ Christian. He was once again the confident CEO rather than the petrified four-year-old. He looked older though still just as handsome. He was not an old man by any means, but he looked weary, older than a man of his years should look. Ana wondered if he had found anyone else to scare away his nightmares in the time they had been apart.

Before she became too lost in her thoughts the door opened and Christian's attending entered followed closely by Grace. Nurse Norah and the attending spoke in hushed tones as Grace put her arms around Ana.

"Thank you, dear girl. Thank you so, so very much."

Ana did not get a chance to respond before the attending introduced himself as Professor Michael Sanders. Grace and Sanders went way back, she clearly trusted him. That was good enough for Ana. She took his proffered hand and introduced herself, "Anastasia Steele MD".

"Ah, the wonderous Doctor Steele? Good work this morning, you made my job a hell of a lot easier and Mr Grey's full recovery a whole lot more likely." Ana felt herself blush a little but didn't have time to dwell on the complement. Sanders was all business.

"The solumedrol and magnesium combination worked perfectly well with CPAP nebs. You made an excellent call with the Ketamine, too. No intubation necessary. Mr Grey has been off CPAP and nebs for approaching four hours now. Nasal prongs at 8 liters of oxygen has been enough for him to sustain a saturation of ninety-seven percent. We have scheduled Albuterol treatments at six-hourly intervals for the next forty-eight hours. Additionally, we have IV Levofloxacin for the pneumonia. We discontinued the Ketamine two hours ago, so we should see more reaction to external stimulus in the next couple of hours. As you're aware Ketamine is a conscious sedation, but Mr Grey has been sleeping for the last three to four hours so his response to stimulus has been more difficult to chart. Fair to say the increased work of breathing has him exhausted. You know his knees had to be sutured. His wrist was reduced and cast with no complications. He'll be out of action for six to eight weeks if he follows orders. Any questions?"

"Ah, no, none. Thank you, Professor Sanders."

"Very good. Norah can give you a run down on the numbers, but you can read those machines for yourself. Everything is moving in the right direction and the most recent blood gas was back within normal range. A job well done Dr Steele."

With that Sanders turned and exited the room. Ana resumed her seat holding Christian's hand and Grace sat wordlessly next to her. She knew from experience that Ana was spent right now. They both held hands and lay their heads down on Christian's bed.

The next thing Ana was aware of was the sensation of someone playing with her hair. At first, she just relaxed and enjoyed the blissful feeling of that familiar touch but then she heard a cough and pulled herself back to consciousness.

She shot upright and looked around the room. Christian was awake. Norah had already stepped forward to raise the head of the bed a little more and offered Christian a sip of water. Ana took in Grace's sleeping form next to her and gently shook her awake before standing to move closer to Christian.

She took the water from Norah and sat on the edge of the bed holding the straw to Christian's lips again. He took several small sips before shaking his head.

He tried to reach for her but only his fingers would cooperate. "It's just the meds" Ana reassured, "you'll be back to normal in no time." She put down the cup and ran her fingers through his dishevelled hair before placing a kiss on his forehead. "I thought you were dying. Don't ever fucking do that to me again, okay?"

He nodded his agreement. "I'm sorry."

Ana chuckled at him, stroking his cheek affectionately. "You have no reason to be sorry, Christian. You are sick, you didn't choose this for yourself."

"No, I mean I'm sorry… for letting you go. Letting us go. I love you. Always. Forever."

"I love you, too. But things have not changed for me. I still want the same things I always have. Children, dog, white picket fence, the whole nine yards."

"Anything. I'll give you… anything. I want that, too. I want it with you."

"Christian, you're medicated, you're sick, don't put me in this position, please just…"

"Marry me?" he rasped.

"What? You can't be serious. I can't do this again with you and end up having to walk away. I won't survive that again. Kids are a hard limit for you, remember?"

"Not with you. Not anymore. Marry me… please?"

Suddenly Grace made her presence known to them both. "For goodness sakes, will you just say "yes" already. You kids drive me insane." She had tears streaking down her cheeks and a look of pure joy etched on her face at just seeing them talking after all this time.

Ana looked back to Christian and gave a single solitary nod.

"What is that? Is that… a response? …a yes?"

"Yes. Yes, it's a yes. Jesus, I must be fucking crazy."

* * *

 **Escala Penthouse, March 16** **th** **, 2018**

"Christian, you trust me, don't you?"

"You know… I do. I just…." He writhed on the bed, gasping for breath and fighting for purchase.

"Shhh. Don't talk, just breathe. Just listen to me and mirror my breathing."

Slap! "Arrrgh, fuck."

"Mr Grey! Such language! That will earn you three more. Now keep still or I _will_ restrain you."

Before Ana could make her move he grabbed the paddle from her hands and flipped her over, pinning her to the bed as the implement hit the floor with a clatter. She shrieked. "You don't play fair."

"I'm fair. I just want to take care of my wife while I still can. Now _you_ lay still."

Christian worked his way down her body, kissing, nipping and licking as he went. Her neck, her full breasts, her swollen abdomen. Christian had just reached the apex of her thighs when she gasped and moved her hands to her belly. "What is it? Ana, what's wrong, did I hurt you?"

"Nothing's wrong. Come here and give me your hands." Christian crawled up the bed and she placed his hands on her abdomen. "Just be still and feel." It took a few seconds before Christian felt it. It was strange, like a weird rippling beneath Ana's skin. The widest smile spread across his face. "Is that Junior?" Ana nodded, smiling in spite of the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Wow, just… wow. I can't wait. God, I love you Mrs. Grey."

"That's Doctor Grey to you."

 **The End.**


	8. 7 California Dreamin'

**California Dreamin'**

 ** **Reeling from heartbreak after graduation, Ana heads to Northern Cali for some summertime R &R. Thinking a solo road trip would do her some good, she didn't count on her car dying along the way. On the very rough road to paradise, she encounters a hot stranger who just might change her mind about love. From APOV w/ some CPOV sprinkled in. No BDSM.****

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Hitch Hike**

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

To hell with Mark Zuckerberg.

I was _fine_ – absolutely _fine_ before the advent of Facebook. Who would've thought that a Harvard dropout could reproduce Myspace's illegitimate cousin and that travesty would eventually become the epicenter of where relationships are born and decimated.

" _ **Single."**_

" _ **In a Relationship."**_

" _ **It's Complicated."**_

I never thought that I'd be one of those girls who stalked her ex's social media page, but there I was – _days_ , then _weeks_ after our breakup, snooping to see if he'd deleted photos of me. Then just two days ago, I saw something that I didn't count on seeing. A sudden change in my ex's _status_.

 _ **In a Relationship with Bianca Corbin.**_

I remember the exact moment when my heart sank. I recall the very second the first stray tear streamed down my face. And soon after my accumulation of tears dried, I thought – _Fuck men._

I was done.

"Hey Annie…a nice long fishing trip always helps me get my head on straight. Why don't you join me?"

I look up and across the tiny breakfast table at my stepfather in his old trusty red flannel button-up shirt and faded baggy jeans, who…bless his heart, means well, although his brusque demeanor doesn't quite line up with his words. This man who helped raised me ever since I first began learning how to talk remains my constant, even though I am not very fond of the male species at the present time.

When I graduated from college a week ago, I found myself having to re-explain to both him _and_ my mother that a certain someone and I'd broken up over a month ago. Regardless of the news, that didn't stop them from kindly greeting and chatting with my ex at the reception after the ceremony, as if _nothing_ happened. It was beyond awkward seeing my folks being _all friendly_ with him since I was trying my absolute best to avoid him that entire day. However, that's extremely difficult to do when you've been with that person for almost two years, _and_ your parents have grown extremely fond of him.

It also doesn't help that this person's sister so happens to be class valedictorian and my very best friend.

Hell, I even knew back in the beginning of sophomore year that if I finally gave in to Ethan Kavanagh's charms, I'd eventually live to regret it. Don't get me wrong, he's still the sweetest guy that I've ever known; it's just that we're so different from one another. Ethan's very quick to lose focus, while I'm as steady as a pillar when it comes to locking down exactly what I want out of life.

I swear that man is ADD when it comes to figuring out his future aspirations. He graduated two years before his sister Kate and I, yet he's already gone through _four jobs_. The moment that he gets the slightest bit of correction from a supervisor, he's annoyed and ready to move on to somewhere else that _'better appreciates his creative mind'_.

Give me a break.

I couldn't relate to that. I've been working at the same hardware store part time for nearly four years. I understand the premise of my manager telling me to re-stock the paint cans a certain way for aesthetics' sake, and then turning around and doing so without uttering a single complaint.

Most recently, Ethan was considering going to back to school for his masters – as if a second degree would resolve his problem of working jobs that he doesn't like. However, just two days ago, his future somehow seems even more uncertain since he's all hugged-up in San Diego with this new girl.

No, there weren't any pictures of _Miss Bianca_ on Ethan's page. However, the blushing new girlfriend didn't hesitate to change her profile pic to that of the two of them with his lips firmly planted on her cheek while she's beaming like a blonde bombshell newly in love. However, the sight of her too-small orange bikini top, practically the same hue as her fake-n-bake, over her too-large unreal breasts didn't go unnoticed in spite of her being enveloped in and smooched by my last and only true boyfriend.

I cringe at the very premise.

Two blonds together. Hell…they look just like a hot Hansel and Gretel, and it's nasty. At least he and I appeared as though we were a real-life couple in photographs…or so I thought. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for him. I wasn't _adventurous_ enough. I wasn't _extroverted_ enough.

For the past two days, I've pointed the magnifying glass directly at myself, trying to dissect why Ethan left me and why he was so quick to run to somebody new.

Perhaps I'm more like Ray, my stepfather, than I am my mother, Carla. It didn't take Carla long at all to get back in the saddle after Ray, her second husband. And after she left husband number three, she quickly mended her broken heart and jumped right into marriage number four.

Ray, on the other hand, never married after he and my mother divorced. I'm certain that he's beyond being lovesick over Carla, however, he's not so eager to jump into another relationship. As far as he's concerned, he's rather content with being a lifelong bachelor.

However, the idea of me being in my sixties and stuck in a tiny one-bedroom high-rise apartment with five cats and my massive collection of British classics doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. Therefore, I know that of these days, I am going to have to suck it up and give love another chance.

But right now, I'm in no mood to do that.

Ethan and I are in two totally different places in our lives, obviously. He'd even admitted on that very emotional night when we broke up that he had some more growing up to do, and perhaps some time apart would help him get there much quicker. Granted, I agreed that he needed to get his life in order, but I was very hesitant to accept that us breaking up would necessarily help him accomplish that.

I mean, Ethan was my everything. And although he wasn't necessarily my ' _first'_ – he was my _second_ – he was certainly my first real, _true_ boyfriend.

I don't think that you ever get over your first love. Ethan, his sister, and I, along with our friend José, practically did everything together these last three years. We were the _four amigos_. Now, the band's all broken up and gone our separate ways.

José is living it up this summer in Wyoming with friends in preparation for his final year of college.

Ethan's obviously enjoying the _fast life_ on the beach with Bianca in San Diego.

 _The very thought makes me feel more and more ill._

Kate's trying to get newly adjusted to her post-graduate life in Seattle. The original plan was for me to join her there, but I backed out after the breakup – which Kate still hasn't gotten over. I know that she is _not_ her brother, but still. Ethan had intentions to move in with his sister at the start of grad school, and I don't want to be there if or when that happens.

So now, I find myself back in a place that I never thought I'd ever come back to: The woods of Montesano with Ray.

 _It's just for the summer until I decide what I should do with my life_ – I keep telling myself. I know that I want to get into publishing, but there isn't much out there right now for someone like me who'll just be entering into the field.

As I continue to sulk at the table, I don't notice right away when Ray steps behind me. He proceeds to part my hair down the middle with his fingers, and then bundle each side into his fists like two makeshift pigtails.

 _What the hell, dad?_

"Remember when you used to wear your hair just like this as a little girl?"

My eyes roll up to catch a glimpse of him as best I can. I'm dumbfounded.

It isn't like him to be all sentimental like this.

 _Where is Ray and what have you done with him?_

"I wore my hair that way until middle school," I recall.

He releases my hair and tries to smooth it back down into place as best he can.

"Bobby Fisher, was it?" Dad says, recollecting the name of the object of my adolescent hormonal affection.

"The eight-grader, not the chess player," I chuckle. Ray snorts.

I smile at the memory of me trying to explain to my father the reason why I no longer desired to wear my hair in pigtails.

I wasn't big into sports at the time, but I knew that Bobby was very popular among the guys because of his ability to almost always sink a three-point shot at every basketball game. He was also a hit with the girls because he wasn't an annoying jerk like all of the other boys. Bobby was always sweet and polite, no matter who he was speaking to; much credit to his sweet mother who'd always volunteer to help serve refreshments at every game.

In sixth grade, I was paired with Bobby Fisher in English class. I was an accelerated learner and therefore placed with the eighth graders. I couldn't help but gravitate towards him. He was simply magnetic. And plus, I'd never really had a big crush on a boy until then.

So down came the pigtails, because girls Bobby's age no longer wore their hair like that. Then I began showing up at all of the home games. One time, Bobby even waved at me in the bleachers – or so I thought. I looked behind me, and there was Trish Spencer, beaming right back at him; the same girl he'd end up taking to the eight-grade dance.

From that point on, I decided to just stick to my literary boyfriends: Darcy and Rochester. _Real boys_ were the absolute pits.

I'd further discover that was the case when I began hanging out with Tyler Monroe late in high school. He was cute, funny. We were never really _official_ , but we'd always go to the mall together, hang out at the bowling alley, and at parties. By the time we reached senior year, I was still a virgin, and both he and I were very eager to change that.

Then came the night of senior prom, and my supposed _deflowering_ took precisely _one minute_. _Is that it?_ – I thought as he collapsed naked on top of me at some lame ass budget hotel chain. I was thoroughly disappointed, and Tyler was beyond embarrassed. So much so, that he never spoke to me again after that night.

 _Boys and their pride._

Once again, I decided to only fall for the boys in my favorite books. After high school graduation, I'd soon leave Montesano and head south down I-5 to Vancouver. Once I arrived, Kate Kavanagh and me quickly became the best of friends. Soon after that, I would meet her hot older brother, also a student at WSUV at the time.

 _Oh no, not again_ – I thought. _I'm not doing this here. I'm not! I have to be here four years._

It took Ethan an entire year of exercising his charm on me before I finally gave him a chance at the end of sophomore year, which was nuts because we'd only have a short time together before he graduated from WSUV. But thankfully he stayed in Vancouver after earning his degree, and we remained inseparable since he was always hanging around the apartment that I shared with his sister off campus.

 _Hell, all roads down memory lane eventually lead to Ethan Kavanagh._

I sulk in my chair once more and Ray strokes my hair.

"I'm serious, Annie. You really should go fishing with your old man. There are _many_ fish in the sea."

I smirk at him. "Why do I get the impression that you are talking about _boys_ and not fish?"

"What in the world are you talking about?" he says, feigning innocent.

"You mention _'sea'_ , but you are actually going to Lake Washington," I tease.

" _Sea_ , _lake_ …it's all a body of water," he grumbles. I giggle briefly until I feel the pang that's been ever-present in my stomach for the past two months.

I don't think that there's anything in this world that wouldn't aggravate my emotional state right now, even my well-intentioned, adorable stepfather.

* * *

I immediately wake up the next morning thinking back to the last conversation that I had with Kate. She wasn't necessarily thrilled with my decision to not join her in Seattle after Ethan and I'd broken up. I wholeheartedly wish that she understood how weird it would be for me to share an apartment with her in Seattle while her brother still contemplates the idea of crashing with us there at the end of summer.

Kate did offer to make Ethan find his own place, but I insisted that it wouldn't be right to leave her own brother hanging like that. And besides, unlike her, I don't even have a job lined up. So, I told Kate that it's best I stay with Ray until I land an opportunity in publishing.

And of course, whenever Kate is on the brain, Ethan isn't too far away; _then_ the cruel reality of him moving on hits me all over again, and I'm tangled in this vicious cycle of twisted emotion. It's beyond frustrating.

Before I can roll out of bed to use the bathroom, my phone rings. My heart starts.

 _Is it Ethan?_

I check the name on the screen and sigh, hesitant to answer it. It's my good friend from college, Brook Pierce, probably calling to pester me for the hundredth time since I left Vancouver. She _really_ wants me to go to the beach in Northern California with her this summer.

"Hello," I mutter disheartened after finally picking up.

"Ana Banana!" she squeals with glee. "What's my favorite bookworm doing in Montesano?"

"Same ol', same ol'," I mumble.

"By the way, I finally saw the pic of that beach bum and his brand new floosy on Facebook. What a _total_ downgrade," she sighs.

"Oh, I'm certain she's a nice girl," I say, insincere.

"Yeah, right," she snarls. "Well, the invitation to my dad's beach house still stands. Ethan's already moved on, and so should you. It'll just be you and me there since my dad will be in Europe working until mid-July, giving us plenty of time to find a summer fling _or_ two," she peps.

I roll my eyes at the very thought.  
 _I've told her time and time again that I am done with men._

"Lest we forget, Ethan is _also_ in California at the moment, which is not making your offer the least bit tempting," I counter.

Brooke sighs. "Look Grouchy…Kavanagh's in _Southern_ California, while my dad's place is in Carmel-by-the-Sea. That's in _Northern_ California, _Missy_ , and seven hours away. California is _huge_ , so Carmel Beach is practically in a different state from where Ethan is in San Diego, as far as I'm concerned."

Brooke's always had this cunning way of putting things into perspective. Still, I'm not ready to decide on leaving just yet. I've been having fun back home in Montesano doing… _well_ …

Okay. If I'm being totally honest with myself, I haven't done a damn thing since I got here. Instead, I've been busy turning down fishing trips with Ray… then reading and sulking, sulking and reading.

"I'll think about it," I finally say.

"Fine," she concedes. "I'll give you a few days to think about it since I'll be stuck here in Bend with my mom for the next three days."

Just like my parents, Brooke's folks are also divorced and living in two completely different states – her mom's in Bend, Oregon, while her dad's in… _well_ , just about everywhere _but_ Oregon and Washington state.

"Why do you say you're _stuck_?" I chuckle.

"You know how insane my mom is. Whenever I'm ready to leave Bend, she starts to bitch and moan about how I spend more time with dad than I do with her since the divorce. And even though I'm much closer in proximity to her, she doesn't complain about me staying with _her_ until she knows that I'm going to see _him_."

I snort. I can totally relate to her plight of being in the center of two divorced parents, but thankfully my folks still get along, even though my mother has since remarried. There has never been any jealousy or anguish between Carla and Ray over which parent I spend the most time with. In fact, I plan on spending a week with my mother in Georgia during the holidays when it's much cooler there. I certainly can't deal with the summer heat, the allergies, _or_ the frizzy hair, which is why I chose to remain in Washington after the graduation ceremony.

"Alright woman…," I announce, "…it's time for me to get out of this bed and start my day."

"Alrighty. And think about what I said. I'm going to keep emailing you pictures of the breathtaking view outside of the beach house until you decide to go. I'll pay for your _fli_ …"

"Stop," I say, interrupting her. " _If_ I decide to go, you're not paying for me to fly in."

"Fine," she says, displeased. "I just want you there with me. And by the way, stay off of Ethan's Facebook page. It'll only make things worse."

 _She's right._

If Brooke were here right now, I'd give her a big hug for being such a tower of strength for me during this heartbreaking time.

* * *

The very next day, I find myself holding my cell in one hand, and a glob of tissues in the other. I've been crying all morning ever since I tortured myself by going on Facebook.

There it was: A newly uploaded photo of Ethan and Bianca kissing on a boat as the sun sets behind them. I completely fell apart.

"Hey, girlie," Brooke peps.

"Hey," I sigh, sniffling.

"I fucking knew it," she growls. "You went on Facebook after I told you _not_ to, and you saw the new pic, didn't you?"

"Yes," I pout.

"I told you to stay off of there," she chastises me hardcore.

"I'm coming to the beach house," I say, the words tumbling out of me.

" _Yay_ …thank goodness for Facebook," she sighs in utter relief.

"I'm going to start packing in a minute," I sniffle.

"Did you book your flight?"

"No, I want to drive," I tell her.

" _What_?" she gasps. "Ana, that's a long ass drive."

"I know, but I want to do it. I can drive thirteen straight hours without stopping, no problem."

" _Geez_ Ana, I don't know…"

"I think I need the time alone on the road to put my life back into perspective. A road trip is exactly what I need."

Brooke sits in silence for a beat. "Alright but be careful. I'll probably end up beating you there. Just let me know when you're halfway."

"I will."

An hour later, I'm in the living room telling my own father a boldface lie. I explain to Ray that I plan to head back to Vancouver for a few weeks in order to meet Kate, who's on her way there from Seattle. I told him that it'll probably be the last time I get to hang out with her before she returns to Seattle once and for all.

Why lie? Because Ray would never let me drive all the way to California alone. But I'm an adult. I've driven five hours before from Vancouver, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for a class outing with no issues whatsoever. What's another nine hours? Heck, that's like driving a full workday plus a few more hours.

I'll have no problems making the trip to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

* * *

"Fuck," I groan out loud.

Just outside of Salem, Oregon, in the middle of nowhere, I find myself staring down an open-hood in despair as my engine smokes out more than an industrial barbecue pit. I pulled off of I-5 just in the nick of time before my VW Beetle could stall out in the middle of the freeway, causing a whole different set of problems, including my potential death.

I'm shocked that even Wanda lasted this long. Still, I thought that my trusty girl had at least twenty-five good hours left in her. All I needed was for her to get me to the beach house, and then back home again. Instead, Wanda barely made it three hours away from home. I'm devastated.

And what's even worse, I was in such a hurry to pack and leave, that I left my phone cord back with Ray. So, for the past three hours, I've been totally draining my battery by using the GPS and streaming Pandora until my phone died, not realizing that I didn't pack my freaking charger.

I can't even call for roadside assistance right now. Eventually, I'll have to venture out into this strange town with a scary ass name to locate a phone and get some help. But after I make that call, what next? If I contact Ray, I'd have to come up with a good excuse why I continued to drive an hour past Vancouver. If I call Brooke, she'd only tell me to go home and wait until she schedules me a flight to the beach, which I refuse to let her do. I may not have as much money as she does, but I have my dignity.

Just the thought of going back home and sulking over how much my ex is enjoying the summer and how much I'm _not_ makes me more and more depressed. After some internal back and forth, I decide that I absolutely cannot turn back.

I must press forward.

 _It's California or bust._

I grab my shoulder bag from the passenger seat, yank my medium-sized roller bag out of the trunk, and begin exercising my thumb whenever a random vehicle approaches.

* * *

Overwhelmed, I gape at the enormous eighteen-wheeled semi-trailer truck with a sleeper.

"Up here…pass me your luggage."

After snapping out of my trance, I lift the roller bag up and over my head. The load is soon lightened as it is received on the other end. I then proceed to make the steep climb up the truck, nearly tripping just before collapsing into the passenger seat.

"Be careful," the driver warns a little too late.

I turn and look down to see where I nearly fell and shudder.

 _Damn, that certainly is a long way to fall._

I lean over to the side, and it takes superhero strength for me to pull the massive door shut. Exhausted from the long trip up here and the effort that it took to close the door, I sink into the seat.

"Hey there. I'm Marjorie."

I turn to the other side and observe the burly woman in a gray hoodie and jeans, who's now back in the driver's seat after storing my roller bag behind the curtain. Two minutes ago, I could've sworn that she was a man with long hair due to her frumpy posture.

However, up close, she's definitely _all woman_. I'm relieved. It's not to say that this lady couldn't skin me alive, but I much favor my chances of survival riding with her versus riding with a big scary man. Although I don't know Marjorie's age, she appears way younger than sixty, but much older than forty.

"I'm Ana," I say, extending my hand for a shake. She takes it firmly. "Thanks for the lift." I then reach across for my seatbelt and fasten it.

"Heading south?" she asks.

"Yep. My car broke down on the way. It's the Beetle smoking right over there," I point over yonder.

"Yeah, I saw. It doesn't look too good," she quips, stating the obvious.

"I'll handle it once I get to where I'm going."

"Where're you headed in California?"

"Carmel-by-the-Sea?" I say as if uncertain.

" _Where_?" she reacts as perplexed as I predicted, gliding her head sideways. She's obviously never heard of the place. Neither have I prior to Brooke telling me about it.

"It's an hour south of San Jose," I respond.

Marjorie's deep in thought while massaging her chin. "The furthest south I can take you is to Sacramento. I'm delivering a load to a customer there and then picking up another one just before I head to Nevada."

 _Shit_ – I immediately think. The last thing on my mind was hitching a string of rides all the way to my destination. The very thought of taking more rides from strangers frightens me. I'm shocked to even be accepting _this_ ride to California from this seemingly nice lady, as opposed to calling my father and heading back home.

She could be Large Marge from _Pee-wee's Big Adventure_ for all I know. _Hell, her name_ _ **is**_ _Marjorie, which is what 'Marge' is short for._ I shudder at the thought

"At least that's most of the way," she says. "You'll probably only have about a three-hour drive from Sac to get to where you need to go."

Hopefully Brooke will be in California by the time I get to Sacramento, then we can figure out how to get me from there to her father's beach house.

"That's perfectly fine. Again, thanks for the lift," I say in sincere appreciation.

"No problem," she says, now buckling up.

"If you don't mind, could I use your phone to call my friend who's expecting me?" I ask. "My phone died on the way here, and I don't have my charging cord."

"I'm sorry sweetheart," she says in sincere disappointment. "Believe it or not, I actually left my cell phone at the last truck stop back in Spokane, so all I have is this radio here," she gestures to the unit placed above her head. "I doubt we can reach your friend that way."

I sigh. "And you don't by chance have your charger? If so, is it compatible with a Samsung flip phone?"

She chuckles. "I actually have an iPhone."

 _Of course_ – I sigh to myself. Nothing can ever be easy for me, as I am finding out the hard way.

"Actually, I had a flip phone as well until two months ago. My nieces and nephews made fun of it and kept begging me to switch my technology over to the present decade," she says with humor.

Once again, _lady luck_ is a cruel bitch.

I purse my lips in amusement. "Well unfortunately, I'm old school just like my dad. If it's not broke, I keep it until it does break," I smirk. "Why spend money on a brand-new phone if it still works, right?"

"Right," she nods in agreement. " _Or_ a car."

I frown. _Was that a dig?_

"Well _that_ , I'll finally have to get a new one."

She chuckles. "I don't blame you, girl. If it ain't broke, don't fix it," she philosophizes just before shifting her big rig into gear. "You need me to take you to a payphone somewhere? They still have those around in some places."

"No need to stop now. I can wait until our first stop to make my call. Someone's bound to let me use their phone," I say with confidence.

* * *

"What an asshole," Marjorie gasps. I flatten my lips in a crooked line and nod in total agreement

We're now advancing through Ashland, Oregon and nearing the California border. During our journey, the subject of my ex inevitably comes up. So, for the last hour and a half, I've familiarized kind Marjorie with the last two miserable months of my life before finding out that my ex has swiftly moved on this week.

"You're a smart girl, Ana," she says while operating the truck smoothly, as if it were a sedan. "And gorgeous, too. You remind me of my niece, Melissa. You have everything going for you. That jerk doesn't know what he's missing, but he'll find out soon enough. One of these days, he's going to regret ever breaking your heart… _you'll see_ ," she expresses with a confident nod.

I don't know Marjorie from Adam, yet as we traverse through the last sliver of Oregon, she's been pumping me up full of encouragement. I wished her words would sink into me. No matter what she says, the fact remains that Ethan left me, and then not long after that, he found someone new. The very thought is heart wrenching.

"I sense that you think I'm full of crap," she smirks.

"No," I say urgently, "I appreciate your kind words. _However_ …"

All of a sudden, the words that were once sitting at the edge of my mouth quickly float away. I am flustered.

"I get it," she says. "It's going to take something new, something _better_ to make you forget all about the pain _that loser_ caused you."

 _Ethan? A loser?_ The very idea is unsettling. I never thought of him as being a _loser_ , even though certain individuals in my life, such as Brooke, may beg to differ. In spite of breaking my heart, he's actually a very a sweet guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him. It's _just_ …

I don't know. Maybe we weren't really meant to be together. Perhaps it was for the best that we'd broken up sooner as opposed to making the mistake of getting married a year or so down the line and regretting it later.

 _Maybe this is right…  
…even though it kinda really hurts at the moment._

"What the hell!" Marjorie gripes out of nowhere.

As I look straight ahead, I see our smooth coast down I-5 suddenly come to a halt as we inch past the California state line.

For the next three hours or so, we sit stagnate, going out of our minds in stand-still traffic, only to creep forward every few minutes.

"I have no idea what the heck's going on here. I hope it's not a deadly accident," Marjorie says under her breath, as if she's being cautious to not to give off any sort of bad mojo.

Unfortunately, I'm getting more and more hungry by the second, and my bladder is feeling weaker. I squirm in my seat, willing away the two very uncomfortable sensations, being that it doesn't appear to be any rest stops _or_ an exit ramp in sight. Also, fatigue is beginning to set in from the long, bumpy ride, followed by the slow crawl and being confined to the same seat for much too long.

Eventually, we see some sort of makeshift highway patrol checkpoint. Ahead, there's a flock of state highway patrol officers, both perched inside of patrol units with active flashing lights, as well as on foot conversing with commuters.

"I wonder if they are trying to route everyone off the freeway," ponders Marjorie.

"I have no idea," I sigh.

 _Please, let there be an exit coming up here shortly.  
I am about to blow._

Soon, a young officer wearing the full garb, including campaign hat, walks towards Marjorie's truck. She rolls down her window.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," he greets very politely.

"Hey…what's going on here?" Marjorie says, cutting straight to the chase.

"I'm not sure where you're headed, but I highly suggest you steer clear of I-5 south for the next couple of days."

Both Marjorie and I gape at him.

"Why's that?" she asks.

"Unfortunately, the governor of California will be campaigning throughout the state for the November presidential election. He's gonna start up here, and then head south to attend various rallies. And because he'll be on the November ballot, the U.S. Secret Service is very involved with security logistics, thereby tying up I-5."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now!" Marjorie snaps.

 _Cool it, lady, before you get us arrested._

"I wish I were," he says, totally ignoring her sharp tone.

" _Dammit_ …out of all the times for this _asshole_ to do a dumbass grassroots campaign. Hey, you know this is going to negatively impact commerce in your state, don't you?" Marjorie says, practically chastising the officer for something that he has _zero control_ over.

He shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, most definitely…but what can we do? You ladies be safe," he says, before walking away.

"Fucking shit," Marjorie grumbles under her breath.

We crawl the interstate for another twenty minutes before we finally spot a sea of vehicles taking a nearby exit ramp.

 _Thank goodness._

"We may need to stop somewhere near here for now in order to regroup," she announces. "I'll load up on fuel and then contact dispatch to see if I can find an alternate route. Like I said, I'll at least get you to Sacramento."

She's definitely old school if she has to contact her dispatch for another route, versus using a GPS to work around I-5.

"No, I _really_ appreciate it," I say once more, restating my utmost gratitude.

After taking the exit, we eventually get around the congestion and travel a few miles down a couple of side roads until we reach a fueling station. Marjorie pulls in through the truck entrance and parks at the nearest pump. After the loud hiss of the hydraulic brakes, the diesel engine is silenced, and we each open our doors and climb out of the cab.

"I've gotta pee _really_ bad," I tell her, shifting from foot to foot as she readies her credit card payment at the pump.

"Me too. Glad we stopped," she chuckles.

When I turn to the left, I suddenly see a sign that reads: **"Welcome to Weed, California"**.

 _Oh no._ I'm now holding my stomach in with both hands in order to keep from laughing. _Please don't make me pee on myself, Weed, California_ – I think to myself. It doesn't help when Marjorie turns to see what I'm snickering at.

"Well, how about that?" she cackles heartily.

Out of all times to _not_ have a working camera phone. _Hell._ My friends will certainly not believe me if I tell them about this place.

The sound of the CB radio going off in the truck startles both of us. Marjorie leaves the pump running inside the tank and then climbs back into the truck to respond to the call. She then proceeds to have a back and forth dialog with her dispatch. I have no clue what they're talking about since there's a lot of trucker jargon being tossed around.

Before I head towards the restrooms, a delicious smell suddenly wafts into my nostrils. _What's that marvelous smell?_ I turn to the other direction and my sight lands on a small diner just on the other side of the fueling station's lot.

 _Hmm… 'Hi-Lo Café'._

 _Nah…maybe I can just grab a few snacks here at the fueling station after I use their restroom._

I finally walk to the inside and utilize the facilities. Once I'm fully relieved and have washed and dried my hands, I scan the lackluster selection of chips and unappetizing-looking pastries by the cash register. I quickly recall the smell of _real_ food just outside these doors. The memory is strong enough to make me walk out of here without purchasing a thing.

When I return to the truck, Marjorie is still chatting with dispatch. I approach the open driver's side door, interrupting her before she speaks into the handheld microphone.

"Hey…sorry to interrupt, but I'm starving, and I really want to check out that diner over there. Maybe I'll make my phone call while I'm at it."

"Sure, go ahead…by all means," she eagerly encourages me. "I'm going to be a while in here. On top of figuring out an alternate route for me to get to Sacramento so that I'm not so late dropping off this load, they want to go over my next few stops after that. As soon as I'm done, I'll join you over there for a bite before we get back on the road."

"Sounds like a plan," I beam before leaving.

* * *

When I step instead of the Hi-Lo Café, I immediately understand just how Marty McFly felt when he first set foot into Hill Valley in 1955 in the movie _Back to the Future_.

This place definitely has its charm. Not a lot of bodies in here, but there are just enough customers to keep the small waitstaff hopping. I don't spot a hostess at the stand, so I wonder if I should just walk over to the bar and seat myself.

At a quick glance, I spot a man across the way sitting alone at a small table. But what captures my attention even more is his cell phone placed near the edge of that table.

 _I need to tell Brooke where I am and how it may take me even longer than expected to get to the beach house._

Without further thinking, I march over to the man with the phone.

"Excuse me, sir," I say coyly.

When his eyes go up and land on me, my breath and voice immediately disappear.

 _Holy fucking shit._

 _This guy is absolutely gorgeous._

Wild copper hair. Hypnotizing gray eyes. Bulging biceps trying desperately to crawl out of his blue long-sleeved buttoned-up shirt. _Tight_ , tight jeans covering his impressive leg muscles. My mouth is starting to water, and it's not because I'm hungry for food.

" _I_ … _I_ …" I begin to stutter.

His handsome mouth forms the cutest little smirk.

"Can I use your phone?" I finally spit out. " _Please_?" I add, finally managing to catch my breath.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Hello Stranger**

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

I'm totally expecting to give this beautiful stranger a full explanation as to why I need to borrow his phone, but he reaches for it anyway and hands it to me without any questions.

 _Huh?_

When the device in my hands, I peep that it's a BlackBerry, which he's already unlocked for me to use. _Thankfully I know Brooke's number by heart._ I quickly dial the number. As the phone rings, I'm too nervous to turn around and look at the kind owner of this phone.

 _Come on Brooke, pick up._

After the fourth ring, my call goes right into voicemail.

 _Shit._

" _This is Brooke. You know what to do."_ _ **BEEP!**_

Dang it, she probably looked at the number and thought – _'I don't know who the hell this is.'_

"Hey Brooke, it's me…Ana. I just wanted you to know that I had some car trouble, but I'm still headed south. There's apparently some issue on freeway. Anyway, long story. I'll call later and let you know when I get closer. Bye."

I hang up, turn to the side, and place the phone back into the stranger's waiting hand.

"Thank you," I say softly.

"Hey, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," he croons.

 _Bloody hell, he even talks good, too._

"You're having car trouble?" the _too attractive_ stranger asks.

I nod. "Yes. When my car crapped out, I managed to catch a ride with a good Samaritan who just so happened to be heading south like I am. And _then_ …"

"I-5 backups," he sighs in empathy.

I laugh. "Got you too, huh?"

"Yeah. By the way, what's a sweet young lady like yourself doing hitchhiking?" he asks with narrowed eyes.

"You don't know me," I chuckle. "How do you know that I'm _sweet_."

And holy fuck, he flashes me the sexiest grin before saying, "Wild guess. But maybe you might surprise me."

Once again, my breath catches in my throat.

"I take it that you misplaced your phone," he says.

"Yeah…I mean _no_. It died, and I left my charger all the way back home."

"I see. And where's your ride _now_?"

"She's pumping diesel and talking to her dispatch."

"She's a truck driver?"

I nod.

"So why didn't she let you use _her phone_ to make your call?"

"Believe it or not, the one truck driver that I decided to hitch a ride with only has a CB radio and no cell, hence the reason why I asked to borrow your phone," I sass. He smirks in amusement.

"Hey, why don't you have a seat and join me for a moment while your ride's finishing up," he offers.

I start to feel even more nervous.

 _Why is he being so nice to me?_

"Look, I appreciate you for letting me use your phone, _but_ …"

He suddenly waves at someone behind me.

 _Huh?_ I turn around. _What's he doing?_

In no time flat, a nice older waitress approaches the table.

"Hey there, good lookin'! I see you have some sweet little company with you," she says, flirting with the object of many girls' fantasies. It's absolutely ridiculous how beautiful this man looks, I swear. "What can I do for you?"

"Get this young lady whatever she wants," he orders.

 _Young lady? He doesn't appear to be that much older than me_ – I think to myself.

Stunned and feeling pressured, I decide to go ahead and take the seat across from him. _Shucks, what the hell. My stomach's practically gnawing at the lining right about now._

"What would you like, sweetheart," the woman asks me.

" _Uh_ …can I see a menu?" I awkwardly request.

"Sure, hon. Just a second," she beams. "And handsome, your Rueben and fries should be coming right up."

I gape over at the stranger, now sitting across from me.

"Whoa, they have Reubens here?" I gasp.

He smiles back at me. "I asked her to tell me what the best thing was on the menu, and she suggested the Rueben."

Before the waitress steps away to retrieve a menu for me, I stop her.

"Excuse me…I'll just have what he's having."

"Excellent choice," the woman shines. "And what would you like to drink?"

Looking across from me, I see that the hot stranger is having ice water with lemon.

"I'll take a water with lemon," I say.

"Certainly. I'll be right back," she says before taking off.

"I heard you say on that call that your name's _'Ana'_ ," he states out of nowhere.

 _Holy shit…this stranger just heard me say my name._  
I'm alarmed.

"I'm Christian, by the way," the heartthrob introduces himself, extending his hand across the small table. Immediately, I have a ton of wild thoughts running through my head about this _clean-cut bad boy_ in the blue buttoned-up shirt and jeans, but I quickly table them.

 _Don't embarrass yourself even more, Steele._

"Ana," I say, taking his offered hand and shaking it firmly. "But you already knew that," I add bashfully.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ana," he croons, as we release our respective grips.  
"Where're you from?"

"Washington."

" _Where_ in Washington."

"It's a woodsy little town called Montesano."

"I know exactly where that is," he says, matter-of-factly.

"And you?"

"Seattle."

My eyes go wide.

 _Holy shit._

And suddenly, I start to reconsider my decision to _not_ move there.

The woman returns with water and hand, places it right in front of me, and then slips back out of sight. I quickly take a drink from the glass.

"So, have you lived in Montesano your whole life?" he asks.

"Off and on. I've been in Vancouver for the past four years."

"Vancouver, Washington? What's there?"

"WSU."

"Oh," he says, perking up. "So, you just graduated?"

I nod.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks," I say with pursed lips. He arches a brow at me as if he picks up on my lack of enthusiasm. I hate that I sometimes wear my emotions on my sleeve. I'm always having to explain my reaction to things.

"So, what's next? Are you ready to jump into the workforce now?" he says before taking a sip from his glass.

"That's the plan."

"What are you looking to do?"

 _Damn, he's certainly an inquisitive stranger._

* * *

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

As I wait for my answer, I re-examine the out-of-place attractive girl currently sitting across from me in frayed jean shorts, white cami, and a thin blue cardigan. I know for a fact that if her folks back home in Montesano knew that she was here hitchhiking in California, they'd be more than pissed.

This girl looks to be around Mia's age. I'd certainly give my little sister hell if she pulled the same stunt.

 _Does this girl not care for her own safety?_

And by the way, who's this female truck driver that Miss Ana hitched a ride with? I'm tempted to follow this girl back to her ride's truck, quickly run the plates, and see if the driver has a criminal background of any sort. However, that feat would be more difficult if the driver works for a fleet versus independently.

Before the mysterious, gorgeous young woman even waltzed in here and asked to borrow my phone, I was busy kicking myself for driving this far without arming myself with information on the upcoming road closures. This is seriously not like me to roam about without using my head.

But now as I look across the table, I'm almost glad that I fucked up and ended up here.

"I'm looking to do anything right now. I'm just trying to get my foot in the door since I've only worked retail up to this point," the sweet-looking brunette named _Ana_ finally answers my earlier question.

"Well, what is it that you _really_ want to do?" I challenge.

She squirms uncomfortably in her chair, and it's at this point when I realize that the last few times she's lifted up her glass to drink, it was purely out of nervousness and not out of thirst.

"Publishing," she responds, finally.

I stroke my chin in amusement. "So, you want to be an editor?"

She nods.

"Why's that?"

She clears her throat, teasing the sweat on her glass with her delicate fingertips.

"You know…you ask a lot of questions," she sighs, fighting back a grin.

I chuckle. "I can't help it," I say. "I mentor a lot of recent college graduates."

"You do?" she utters sweetly, but sassily.

I nod. "Do you have a mentor in the field you hope to get in to?"

All of a sudden, her head sags. "No. Not yet."

"I think it's paramount to find someone who's really good at what you want to do, and then asking them if they can mentor you."

She looks back up at me. "It's funny, I really don't know that many people in the publishing field. Actually, I know _none_."

"You know…with the internet, you have the entire world at your fingertips," I say to her. "Even if a particular company isn't hiring at the moment, it would behoove you to connect with an editor or someone at that publishing house and ask them if you could come in for an informational interview."

Ana gapes at me. "A _what_?"

"You've never heard of an informational interview?"

She shakes her head from left to right.

"What it is…" I start, "…you basically visit someone's place of business and sit with them one-on-one. Instead of them interviewing you, _you_ are interviewing them. You're getting to know all about their business, what it is that _they_ do, and you are also finding out how to position yourself whenever a position becomes vacant. It's also a great opportunity for you to discover a potential mentor."

She chuckles, "Yeah, before the editor tells me to get the hell out of his office."

I narrow my eyes at her. " _Or_ she."

"Or _she_. I certainly didn't mean to be sexist towards this _hypothetical_ _editor_ ," she giggles. "Ironic, considering that I myself would like to be in that exact position at some point."

"Whomever you speak to, if they were truly dedicated to their job, they wouldn't ask you to leave if you were genuinely seeking guidance. It's important for leadership to not only _lead_ , but to also help usher in the new breed behind them. Someone who's very good at what they do and has also taken someone under their wing will be remembered by many more people after they're gone. It's important to make a positive impact."

She gapes at me.

 _Dial back the Tony Robbins act, Grey._

"Yeah, I can see that," she responds, appearing to have reached a moment of clarity. "It sounds like you speak from experience."

"I hope so," I say with a slight grin.

"I'll definitely take your advice once I get back home. Thank you," she beams.

 _Damn, she's too cute._

Betty Jo, the waitress returns to the table with both sandwich orders.

Miss Ana and I dig in.

* * *

"I feel bad that you didn't enjoy your meal," I say with pursed lips.

She shrugs her shoulders, smirking. Like mine, the plate sitting in front of her doesn't contain a single crumb.

"I swear, I thought you were going to lick the plate at one point," I tease.

"Hell yeah, I was," she giggles. "I told you, we've been on the road for _hours_. I was starving."

Nothing pleases me more than a girl who's not afraid to eat. At least I know that she's well nourished. I catch her scanning across the diner once more, obviously searching for her ride who has yet to return for her.

 _I hope she didn't bother to leave any valuables in this woman's truck.  
Her ride could've possibly already taken off._

"You didn't mention where you were on your way to?" I say to her.

"Carmel-by-the-Sea. A good friend of mine from college…her father has a beach house there."

I nod. "I've heard it's very lovely there."

"It is from the looks of it. My friend's been sending me pictures of the place. I can't wait to get there."

"Have you spent any time at all in California before today?" I inquire.

She shakes her head. "No. This is my first time here. I was really looking forward to exploring the state until my car broke down three hours into my trip."

"Three hours?" I gape.

She nods.

"Why didn't you bother to turn around and go back home?"

Suddenly, her upbeat demeanor shifts, making it rather obvious to me that she's running from something. Or perhaps she's searching for something instead.

 _What are you looking for, Miss Ana?_

She suddenly collects herself and squares up her shoulders. "I decided to move forward on my quest for a clean start."

"A _clean start_?" I echo, intrigued. "From what?"

"Boys."

Oh, so she's indeed running from something…or someone, in this case.

I do a terrible job hiding my amusement by fighting back a grin. However, her reaction to mine makes it rather obvious that she's the least bit amused.

"Hitchhiking across state lines just to get a _clean start_ from boys seems rather drastic, don't you think?" I smirk.

Void of a smile, she simply hunches her shoulders and takes another drink of water.

What has she gone through in her short years that would lead her to such extreme measures? Whoever this dummy is, he obviously hurt her… _badly._

"So, what happened? Why do you need a _clean start_ from _boys_?" I ask.

I can tell that answering my question is the last thing she wants to do, so I figure I'd stare her out of silence. It doesn't take long for her to break away from my gaze by looking down at the empty plate in front of her, which Betty Jo should've taken away long ago.

"I recently broke up with my boyfriend of nearly two years. However, he didn't hesitate to find someone else to take my place for the summer."

I'm shocked that she decides to break through the barrier that she built and pour her heart out to me. She doesn't even know me. However, that doesn't stop me from wanting to know more about her.

"Oh, I see," I murmur. "So where is he now? Is he back in Montesano? Vancouver?"

"San Diego."

I gape at her. "Please don't tell me you're on your way to San Diego to start drama with your ex and his new girl."

She frowns harshly at me. "I'm not some crazy ex-girlfriend," she spits at me. "And besides, I told you where I was headed, and it's nowhere _near_ San Diego."

I hold up my hands in mercy. "Fair enough. So, you're just headed to Carmel-by-the-Sea to enjoy the summer on the beach with your friend. I got it."

"Not the whole summer," she clarifies. "Maybe a week or two."

"Why not make it _three_?" I toss out there. "You're going through all this trouble to get there. You may not arrive for another day with the politician tying up I-5."

The only word I can come up with to describe the current expression on her face would be _remorseful_. I imagine her regretting not turning back around and going home.

"Heck, why not," she finally peps up. "Maybe I will."

"As you should."

"Nothing wrong with laying out on the beach for another week or two, right? I'll probably get more sun in three weeks than I've ever got during most of my life living in Washington," she quips.

"No doubt. Although, I hope you packed your sunscreen."

She lobs me a smirk. "How long have you lived in Washington?"

"Nearly my whole life," I answer.

"Well, you'd know that they don't even sell that shit in Washington since the sun is a luxury that's rarely ever seen there."

I laugh. Boy, she's cute _and_ funny.

"Fair point. I guess you'll just have to pick up some when you get to the beach," I concede.

"That's the plan," she bops while plopping a thinning ice cube from her glass and into her mouth.

 _Jesus…that mouth._

"So, I assume you have a good and safe driver who will make certain that you get to where you're going?" I say wishfully.

"She's just getting me to Sacramento since she needs to head to Nevada from there," Ana says matter-of-factly. I gape at her.

Not only is this girl already hitching a ride with a truck driver, but she'll more than likely have to hitchhike for yet _another_ ride in order to get to her destination. Ana may be with someone who's _relatively safe_ this time; but next time, she might not be so lucky.

I mean look at her. She's extremely attractive and young. Some asshole's just lurking in the bushes, waiting to take advantage of someone like her.

I can't let that happen.

"I can take you directly to where you need to go," I offer.

She gasps. "Oh my gosh…thank you, but I can't accept your offer. I don't want to be any trouble…"

"It's no trouble at all," I cut her off, reassuring her. "Carmel-by-the-Sea isn't that far off from my business contact in Salinas that I've been promising to see for the longest time. Why don't you let me take you?"

Her hesitation is beyond evident. She obviously had no problems accepting a ride from a female truck driver, but accepting a ride from a man that she just met an hour ago? Part of me wants to applaud her for being so vigilant concerning her own safety.

"Look, I know you don't know me, but you just got done hitching a ride with someone else who you don't know. And if _I_ knew you, I would highly advise you against taking rides from strangers, including _me_. But since you're here, and since I know that I am trustworthy, I am asking you to please accept a ride from me."

Not giving her a chance to speak back, I reach into my back pocket, pull out my wallet, and retrieve one of my cards. I hand it to her and she immediately scans it with her eyes.

" _Christian Grey…CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc_ ," she recites. She looks back at me, perplexed.

"If you'd like, I can take a picture of it, and you can stand over my shoulder while I email it to your family and friends. I can also hand you my phone, so you can do a quick search on the web. I'm a well-known businessman in Seattle who can't afford to have kidnapping or abduction on my record."

She sighs, but it appears as if she's deeply considering my offer.  
I decide to bring my point home.

"So, will you accept my offer to take you to Carmel-by-the-Sea, or not? We've been sitting here for almost an hour and a half, and your ride has yet to make an appearance."

Her eyes open wide at the realization, and she frantically scans around the restaurant once more. This time, she sighs in relief when she spots a woman in a gray hoodie making eye contact with her while sipping coffee at the bar. The woman gives Ana a wink and then lifts up her white mug to her. Ana blushes.

 _What's that all about?_

Turning back to me, she says, "I'll agree to your offer to send your business card to my friend Brooke. She also has record of your cell number since I recently called her from your phone."

I smile at her. "Good. I'll text her my e-business card right now."

As I retrieve my phone to complete the task, Ana stands and then rounds the table to hover over my shoulder. I complete each step slowly, so she can see exactly what I'm doing.

"All done," I declare. When I look up at her, she blinks as if she was just in a trance. Suddenly, she's blushing again. I smirk at her, wondering what's going on with her, but I keep my thoughts to myself.

"So how about it? Should we visit your new friend over there and let her know that you're hitching a new ride?"

Ana nods. "Sure. And I'll need to retrieve my bag from her truck."

As I rise up to join her, I smile in anticipation of getting to know more about this gorgeous young lady as we ride together through the California highways.

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

I nearly lost my mind back in that diner from standing in such close proximity to him. Not only is he heart-stoppingly gorgeous, but he smells divine, too. _And_ he's wiser than his youthful appearance. It's so not fair for one man to have all of that going for him.

 _I'm certain that his girlfriend misses him.  
I would._

Oh yes, you better believe I was searching his hand for a wedding ring. Still, when I didn't find one, it didn't bring cause for relief. No man this good is unattached. Hell, even the attractive _but_ mediocre men are taken.

It's going to take every bit of strength in me to maintain myself while being confined in a small car space with him for _many_ hours. Hey, maybe I can finally have a nap like I've been hoping for.

When I meet him in the front of the diner with my roller bag, which Marjorie so graciously retrieved for me, Christian immediately intercepts it. I gasp, but I hesitate to gripe.

 _His mother obviously trained him right._

He leads the way over to a gorgeous pewter-colored two-seater classic car with a tan soft top.

"Nice wheels. A convertible?" I hum, beyond impressed.

"Thank you, _yes_ ," he says as he opens his trunk and places my roller bag inside of it. "It's a 1961 Lancia Flaminia Cabriolet."

A _who_?

Whatever it is, this car's obviously a big deal to him.

"Believe it or not, it had less than a thousand miles when I bought it. The previous owner took especially good care of it," he raves.

I beam in amusement.  
 _Boys and their toys._

After shutting the trunk, Christian saunters over to the passenger side and opens the door for me. Before I can thank him, a sudden thought pops into my head.

"Wait a second…we didn't get the check from our waitress."

"I took care of it while you were using the ladies' room in midst of our meal."

"Oh no," I gasp, reaching inside of my shoulder bag. He halts me by placing his hand over my arm to prevent me from retrieving my wallet.

"It's not necessary."

"What do you mean?" I gape at him. "You're giving me a ride to Carmel Beach. The least I can do is pay for my own meal."

"Like I said, it's not necessary. You're a _very_ cheap date."

 _Cheap?_

I narrow my eyes at him and he chuckles.

"No, not like that," he quickly clarifies.

I giggle. "That was low hanging fruit," I tease.

"So, it was," he winks, making my knees buckle. _He's way too hot for his own good._ I quickly climb inside of his car before I fall on my face, and he carefully shuts the door behind me.

* * *

The interstate is such a time saver, that you never actually realize how much you appreciate its convenience until some thoughtless Californian politician takes it away from you.

I steal many glimpses of my ridiculously attractive and kind driver's chiseled profile as we parse the state highways and major roads. The convertible top is down, and his naturally wild and thick sun-kissed copper-colored hair blows even more wildly in the wind. _Thank goodness I'm wearing a ponytail._ When glancing at him once more, I am suddenly beyond grateful for the extended travel time.

 _Take him all in, Steele. You'll certainly never see the likes of him again._

As I wallow in my own self-pity, I ponder with certainty what type of boyfriend this _Christian Grey_ character is to the lucky girl back home. He seems like the perfect gentleman.

I mean, no knock against Ethan. When he remembered, he'd open doors for me. It's just that we'd been together for so long, most of that chivalrous stuff eventually stopped. That's why I was sort of taken aback when Christian stood as I rose up from the table to go to the lavatory _and_ when I returned. He also fetched both the restaurant door _and_ the car door for me.

"Why are you so quiet?" he says, abruptly bringing my thoughts to a halt. I look over at him and he flashes me a quick amused smile before continuing to concentrate on the road.

"No reason," I say with a slight smile of my very own. "So, you decided to just jump in your nice little classic convertible and make the long drive from Seattle to Salinas to connect with your business contact, huh? You couldn't expense a flight?" I add with amusement.

"Expense a flight?" he echoes with raised brows. "I have a jet."

I gape at him.

He has a jet?  
Well _excuse me_ , Mr. Too-hot-to-trot.

"Why did you decide to make the long drive, then?"

He clears his throat. His expression looks pensive.

"I was having a rough day, so I decided to take my new car out for a spin. I jumped on I-5 and simply kept going until CHP suggested that I exit."

Interesting.

 _So, I'm not the only one in here that's running from something._

"What happened?" When he glances back at me, I blink and quickly soften up my demeanor so that he doesn't feel pressured to confide in a stranger. "That's if you don't mind telling me."

Hey, it's only fair that he spills since he knows why I headed south. When he doesn't answer me right away, I decide to answer for him.

"Was it because of a girl?" I say with a smirk.

"No," he says too quickly. I flinch.

 _Whoa. Well, nothing's going awry in the love department for this guy.  
_

 _That makes one of us._

"There's this deal that I worked very hard on," he starts. I am all ears. "It fell through. Since the start of my company seven years ago, it has grown to become extremely viable. So, as you can imagine, at this stage of the game, I'd forgotten how it felt to lose."

Wow, that's… _insightful_.

"So, to soften the blow, I bought this car from a neighbor moving overseas – paying _cash_. Then I hopped in and took off with no plans of stopping anywhere in particular, until I encountered the sign for _Weed, California_." I beam in total amusement. _The name caught your eye, too?_ "I just had to stop," he continues, "and snap a picture of the sign for my idiot brother."

I crack up laughing. "I was taken by the name of the town as well. Too bad my phone wasn't functional."

"I happened to be hungry, so I stopped at Hi-Lo to eat. That's when I met _Miss Ana_ ," he says with a sexy twitch of the lips. My breath catches in my chest. "So, what _is_ your last name – since you already know mine?"

"Steele," I say, breathless. My subconscious is kicking me for revealing so much to a man that I just met hours ago. However, he's right about me being armed with details about him. I have his name, phone number, and business location – which were all sent to Brooke. I also had the foresight to memorize his license plate number, which I also plan on giving to Brooke whenever she calls back.

"Ana Steele?" he asks.

"Anastasia Steele."

" _Mm_ ," he hums, filling my stomach with butterflies. "Anastasia is a very beautiful name."

"Thank you."

"Why shorten it?"

"It's just easier to say, especially when you're a small kid. It just _stuck_ ," I tell him. "Hey, you mind if I try my friend Brooke once more?"

"Not at all," he says. "It's right over there in the glovebox," he says, nearly touching my bare thighs. _Thank God I wore shorts._

"Oh, that's right," I blink in a _'stupid me'_ fashion. I pop open the glovebox and retrieve his BlackBerry. I glance at the screen and notice Brooke's number. "Shit, she called three times," I sigh.

"Oops," he says under his breath.

I click on her call and the phone immediately dials her back.

"Oh my God… _Ana_?" Brooke gasps all frazzled.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I missed your call."

"What the hell, girl! You had me freaking out over here," she scolds.

"I didn't mean to…"

"You're still with _CEO McHotty_?"

I gape straight ahead. _How in the world does she know what he looks like?_

" _H_ …how do you…" I stutter. She quickly takes me out of my misery.

"I looked him up as soon as I heard your message. Holy shit Steele, when you rebound, you certainly don't play around," she snorts. "A _billionaire_?"

My eyes get even rounder. "Excuse me?"

"Ana Steele, an insanely hot billionaire randomly picked you up while you were hitchhiking. The one and only Christian Grey is Seattle's most eligible bachelor, girlfriend!" she squeals.

As Grey glances at me with puzzled eyes, I pretty much sink down further into my seat. Yeah, he's most certainly out of my league, even if he were single. I suddenly feel even more insignificant. _Why did I decide to wear these frayed jean shorts and this ratty tank? I look like a hot mess sitting next to him._

"Is he hotter in person than in his photos?" Brooke prods. I close my eyes in defeat.

"I haven't been online. I don't have a phone, remember?" I say, lacking enthusiasm.

"Oh, that's right. So, tell me…how hot is he? I know you can't be as candid as you'd like since he's driving." Brooke is acting like a giddy schoolgirl. It's both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. "By the way, it's loud. Are all the windows down?"

"We're in a convertible," I tell her. "What kind of car is this again?" I say, now speaking to Grey.

"Lancia Flaminia Cabriolet. The 1961 model," he calls out.

"Did you hear that?" I say, now speaking to Brooke.

"Holy shit, even his voice is hot," she sighs.

"Girl, you don't even know the half of it," I mutter under my breath.

"Damn…he's _that_ sexy in person?"

I turn my head away from him. "It's ridiculous. Words can't even describe. I'm losing my mind here," I try my best to speak directly into the microphone as discretely as possible. I can't see his expression, but I'm sure he knows that I'm being sneaky on this call with my good friend.

"Jesus, well I hope you strike gold. At least kiss him or something," she laughs.

If only.

"Hey, do you have a pen handy?" I ask her.

"Yeah."

Suddenly, I call out Grey's license plate number and she starts laughing.

"Did you tell her the color of my car, too?" the voice right next to me suddenly calls out.

I spin my head around and catch Grey smirking in amusement. I giggle.

"It's like a pewter gray," I jokingly tell Brooke. Christian quietly chuckles.

"If you get abducted by him, I am going to be jealous," quips Brooke. I hold back a laugh. "I can't wait to see your face, Steele. I'm so ready to leave here and meet you in paradise tomorrow."

"I'm really excited," I say with sincerity.

"Good. Give me a call when you get closer. You might even beat me there."

"I doubt it," I reply.

"But if you do, the key to the house is on the back deck under the mat. It's a private beach, so it's quite secure. I'll give the guard desk the car and plate information."

"Sounds good."

"Who knows, maybe he'll stay around and hang out. I don't mind playing third fiddle. These next couple of weeks are all about _you_."

"I don't know about him staying," I say, and immediately his eyes narrow as they focus straight ahead. "He has to go to Salinas for a meeting after he drops me off."

"Drat," Brooke sighs in disappointment.

"Alright, I'll let you go."

"Safe travels, cupcake!"

"Thanks."

I end the call and place the phone back inside of the glovebox.

"That was… _interesting_ ," Christian says, flashing me a quick smirk.

I feel myself blushing. "She looked you up on the internet after you sent her your card."

"As she should."

" _Seattle's Most Eligible Bachelor_ , huh?" I tease. When he almost looks annoyed, my smirk is wiped away.

 _Watch it, Steele. You don't want to get dropped off in the middle of nowhere and left behind._

* * *

The sky remains illuminated, but the sun's impending slumber is imminent as we cross into Shasta County.

"I wasn't at a full tank of gas when I stopped at the café," Christian says. "I think it's best we fuel up now before we get too far away from civilization."

I nod in agreement, and he soon pulls into a small gas station. As he parks, a great big billboard towering over everything suddenly catches my eye.

 **Large Junk Art Sculptures**

As Christian exits the car to pump gas, I decide to climb out as well, and stretch my legs. I walk over to his side to get a better look at the sign while tugging at the frayed seams of my shorts. I catch his eyes hone in on my thighs, and a foreign feeling flashes through me.

 _Oh my._

Quickly, he turns his attention back to the numbers scrolling on the pump before he also notices the large billboard advertising the " _Large Junk_ " art exhibit. He smirks in amusement.

"Hey, you wanna go check it out before we head back on the road?" he asks.

My eyes grow wide. "Sure."

"You need to use the restroom or anything?"

I shake my head. "No, thanks."

The pump clicks, and he places the nozzle back into its holster. "I'll have to run inside real fast. Do you need anything?" he says, pointing towards the miniscule convenience store part of the station.

"No. Thank you."

Less than five minutes later, he returns holding a paper bag in one arm as I'm seated back in the car. He gestures a bottle of water my way that looks cold and refreshing as it sweats in his hands. I nod and hold my hands out to catch it. He tosses it inside of the topless car, and it falls directly into my hands.

"Great catch," he smirks as he saunters to the rear and pops open the trunk to store his bag.

Soon, we make the one-mile trip over to the junk art attraction.

* * *

It's probably forty-five minutes 'til dusk as Christian and I witness a handful of families gleefully taking photographs in front of these monstrosities in an exhibit that's literally in the middle of nowhere. If we weren't off the beaten path, I would've never known of its existence for my entire life.

As Christian and I stroll the grounds side by side, I am amused when I see what can only be described as a cross between _Jaws_ and a Dalmatian chasing the tail of a flying pig. Suddenly, I realize that the _shark looking dog thing_ is actually made out of a Volkswagen Beetle. I gape at it.

"What?" Christian says, stopping cold in his tracks to study me instead of the odd sculpture.

"That's the same car as mine. The one that just broke down today."

"You drove an old VW Beetle?"

Yes," I say proudly. "I'm a fan of classic cars, too. Wanda was my pride and joy."

"Seriously? You _named_ your car?" he says, masking a smirk behind his narrow gaze.

"Well, sure. I thought everyone named their cars," I shrug. "Don't you?"

"No," he snorts. I slowly feel myself blushing in embarrassment. "But I think it's cute that you do." His lips twitch into a slight grin.

 _Holy hell._ I feel my insides lighting up like Christmas.

Shortly afterwards, we come across another sculpture – a _'cricket'_ that looks to be made out of an old WWII fighter plane.

"It's astounding how they can create something brand new with old junk," I sigh in wonderment.

"I know. It's remarkable," Christian says, all wide-eyed and nodding in agreement.

After that, we encounter two junk sculptures of men – one skiing, while the other one is snowboarding. The display in particular that seemed to impress Christian the most was the bug and giraffe. Personally, I was a little more partial towards the caterpillar. Regardless, I'm beyond impressed that such intricate detail went into each and every sculpture on display.

Towards the end of our stroll down the entire exhibit, Christian retrieves his phone from his tan jacket pocket. He glances down at the screen.

"I think this is for you," he smirks, handing it to me. I wince before taking it.

"Oh, it's Brooke, of course," I chuckle before answering it.

"Hey."

"Hi," she says, sounding a little disheartened. My skin tingles in alarm.

"What's wrong?" I ask. I hope she's not calling to cancel our beach trip. That would _really_ suck.

"So, just as I suspected, my mom's guilt tripping me into staying another five days. I'm planning on changing my flight, so I hope that's okay with you."

"Should I just head back home, then?" I say, now fully uncertain of the situation.

"How far are you?"

"I'm only four hundred miles away."

"Girl, no!" Brooke says resoundingly. "Just head on over to the beach house and help yourself. There's food and things in the fridge. Dad had the housekeeper come by yesterday to clean and stock up."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely…without question. I want you to enjoy the beach and sun enough for the both of us these next five days, and we'll keep it going once I join you. Hey, if you're lucky, maybe a certain hottie will decide to stay at the house with you and keep you company until I arrive."

I roll my eyes. " _Not_ happening," I directly shoot down.

"Never say never," she sings.

"I'm saying it," I counter with certainty.

"Let me know when you make to the house."

"I will."

I hang up and hand the phone over to Christian.

"Is everything okay?" he observes my change of demeanor.

"It's fine. Brooke will arrive at the beach five days behind me," I reveal.

He looks at me as if he's displeased by the news.

"Are you going to be staying there all alone?"

"It's a private, secure beach. I'll be fine."

He frowns, obviously unconvinced.

Geez, it's like I'm dealing with my father sometimes. A way younger… _way_ hotter version of him. Before we exit the exhibit completely, Christian slows down when we approach a park bench.

"You want to sit here and watch the sunset?" he suggests.

I turn and suddenly realize the striking orange horizon straight ahead.

"Oh yeah, it's right here," I gasp. "How cool is that?" Awestruck, I lower myself onto the bench without looking, and he sits right beside me.

"Sometimes, you just have to stop what you're doing and focus on the wonder that's right in front of you."

His words confound me as I turn to my side and admire his exquisite profile once more while he stares straight ahead. He shifts from the horizon, to me, and we immediately lock eyes. My heart begins to race.

 _Holy hell._

Nervous, I quickly turn away and look back towards the setting sun. Gradually, an assortment of families and couples begin gathering around nearby to admire the breathtaking view.

"It's such a lovely evening," I say while rubbing my naked arms.

All of a sudden, he shifts, and I catch him removing his jacket.

"No, you don't have to…" I start to protest, but he ignores me. He drapes his garment across my arms and settles it over my shoulders.

"I hope you packed a jacket in your bag," he smirks.

"I did," I respond. "I didn't think it would get so chilly in California after the sun goes down.

"It's par for the course in _Northern_ California," he stresses.

"Good to know," I beam at him. "Thanks for the jacket." He answers with a subtle nod.

"So…recent college graduate, huh?" he says out of nowhere. "How does it feel?"

I think long and hard on the question.  
 _Yeah, how_ _ **does**_ _it feel?_

"It hasn't quite sunk in yet," I deeply contemplate. "It's thrilling…but it's sad to think that I won't be back in the fall, you know? That was four years of my life. I'm sure you could relate back when you'd just graduated."

"I didn't," he says, short.

I wince in response while taking my eyes from the disappearing sun and affixing them on him. He turns from the sky and looks back at me once more.

" _No_?" I say, confused.

"I dropped out after sophomore year."

I gape at him. "Where?"

"Harvard."

My eyes get even wider.

 _Just like damn Mark Zuckerberg, the weasel who helped ruin my life._

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Cupid's Chokehold**

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

I don't know what it is, but there's just something about this girl that absolutely intrigues me.

I can tell that she's very guarded. I'm certain that it comes with the territory after recently ending a two-year relationship. I haven't bothered to asked what caused the notorious breakup.

 _I'm curious what did it._

With I-5 closed throughout the state, the transit time has practically tripled. So, after nearly a four-hour drive down rural roads, everything is starting to blend into one big blob of assorted dimly lit road signs and traffic lights. My internal receptors are beginning to short circuit. I'm getting mighty tired.

"It's way past midnight. Did you want to stop somewhere to rest?" Ana says, yawning.

"Yeah," I sigh, admitting defeat. Not long afterwards, I spot a Hampton Inn & Suites as we enter Red Bluff after seeing nothing but lakes and farmland for most of this leg of the journey.

Shortly after we pull into the parking lot, I'm checking us in at the front desk.

"Two rooms?" the older man at the front desk says, seemingly surprised.

 _Did I stutter?_

Miss Anastasia Steele whips out her credit card, but I'm much too fast for her.

"Hey," she says, now glaring at me. I don't care how angry she is, I refuse let her pay for the room. The attendant behind the desk seemingly ignores our tit for tat as he swipes my card.

"I promised that I get you to where you're going. I hadn't intended on stopping along the way," I say to her.

" _I_ suggested that we stop," she says in argument.

"You saw me getting tired. It was no fault of your own. Just let me handle this, okay?" I plead. Perhaps being _kindly insistent_ versus testy and authoritative will do the trick. Thankfully I'm right and she relents.

Soon, we are taking the elevator up to the fourth floor. The hotel placed us in neighboring rooms. We reach our floor and I roll her bag down the hall with my leather duffle slung over my shoulder. We arrive at her door first, and I watch as she swipes her key card and opens it.

"What time did you want to hit the road tomorrow morning?" she asks, and I can tell that she's barely able to stay awake.

"Nine o'clock?" I toss out there. Knowing me, I'll be up closer to five. I'll either hit the gym here or go out for a run before returning to my room for a shower, still allowing for time to get some work done.

"Sure," she smiles. When I step past her and go inside of her room, I can tell that she's taken by surprise.

"You want me to bring this all the way to your room?" I ask, gesturing my eyes towards her bag.

" _No_ …no. Here is fine," she says nervously. " _Thanks_ …thanks so much."

I nod and step back towards the door, which she still holds open.

"It's my pleasure, Miss Steele," I say in response. "I hope you sleep well tonight."

"I'm sure I will," she chuckles. I don't even realize that she's touching my arm until she abruptly pulls away. " _G_ …goodnight," she stutters.

"Goodnight, Anastasia," I respond, stepping out backwards before sliding on my heel to go just next door.

 _She's a fascinating girl, indeed_ – I think to myself as I enter my room.

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

It took a nearly thirty-minute-long shower to pull myself out of whatever the hell was happening inside of my annoying little brain after Christian had gone into his room. It didn't help that I fantasized about the gorgeous stranger the entire time as I washed myself, imagining that it was him washing me.

 _Snap out of it, Steele.  
Boys are nothing but trouble._

I thought I was going to go insane when he stepped inside of my room earlier and offered to bring my roller bag over to the bedroom. In a brief flash, I contemplated having a sudden case of temporary insanity and tripping him to make him fall right into my bed. I immediately dismissed the ridiculous thought.

Then we stood right at the door before bidding each other a _goodnight_ , and we were so close that we were nearly breathing down each other's throats. I recall saying " _goodnight_ " to him like a bumbling idiot.

 _Nice going, Ana_

I knew I had my night… _no_ , _morning_ cut out for me as I struggled greatly to fall asleep even after being so fatigued. My mind refused to rest as it ran sprints thinking back on the time that I spent with a guy I just met less than ten hours ago.

 _I'm telling you, I'm swearing off men for the summer…maybe even longer._

 _They're nothing but trouble._

* * *

California rush hour sucks.

By the time noon arrives, we've already surrendered. We do lunch at submarine shop and hop back on the road to brave the madness once more.

 _I'm_ getting irritated.  
 _He's_ getting irritated.

"Some people shouldn't ever be issued a driver's license," he grumbles under his breath. Every so often, his phone goes off and I open the glove box to check it. If it's not Brooke, which it hasn't been, I simply rattle off the name to Christian.

"Marco?"

"I'll call him later."

"Taylor?"

"I'll circle back with him at our next stop."

"Grace?"

"Voicemail will get it."

 _Who the hell is Grace?_ Immediately, I feel my gut sinking into the abyss.

 _Hell, she even has a pleasant name.  
I'm certain she's everything he wants in a woman, and more._

By four o'clock, we're stopping again for gas after going nowhere fast, thanks to the swarm of heavy traffic avoiding I-5.

"Why don't you grab a snack for the road," he suggests at the pump.

"I'm not hungry," I groan.

"You didn't eat all of your lunch," he says. I wince at him. "I know you can eat. I saw you do it yesterday in Weed, California."

What he says sounds humorous, but there's no trace of humor on his face.

 _Boy, this one sure is bossy._

"I'm good. Thank you," I tell him once more.

"You're _not_ good. You need to eat, Ana. Go ahead and get you something." He then reaches inside of his back pocket.

I gape at him from the car. "No," I say, holding my hand out to halt him. "I'm fine. _Really_."

Shortly afterwards, he puts the hose back into the pump. "I'm going to get snacks for the road. What do you like? _Sun Chips_?"

I can feel my temperature rising. "Look, I don't want you buying another thing for me. You got my hotel room last night. You got lunch. Thank goodness breakfast was included with our rooms, or you would've got that, too. Honestly, I'm fine," I plead, not hiding my frustration with him.

"You're so stubborn, you know that?" he galls.

 _Oh?  
Really?_

Before I can rein myself in, I am already twisting the door handle and stepping out of the car.

"Where are you going?" he snips.

"To get some air," I snap. "Maybe even hitch a ride with someone else."

 _Oh boy…he certainly doesn't appreciate_ _ **that**_ _answer._

"You shouldn't accept rides from strangers," he scolds harshly, and I gape back at him as if he just grew a third eye. "We're beyond the point of strangers now since you and I have spent nearly twenty-four hours together on the road."

"Well, I can do the same with another driver," I strike back.

Hell, what's gotten into me?

 _Was it the crummy traffic?  
Was it the phone call from the female that he just ignored?_

Needless to say, he's not the least bit amused by my comeback.

"I have your bag in my trunk, Miss Steele," he growls loudly. "I promised that I'd get you to Carmel-by-the-Sea today, and that's exactly what I am going to do…come hell or high water. Unfortunately, you are _stuck_ with me for the remainder of the day."

I immediately halt in my tracks.

* * *

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

I don't understand for the life of me how a girl that I just met can get me so worked up. It's beyond uncharacteristic of me to behave in this way.

Perhaps I'm just not used to anyone in my presence not doing exactly what I say. Anastasia Steele is unlike any other woman that I've met. She's throwing me another curveball.

"If you don't want me to get you something to eat… _fine_ ," I hiss through gritted teeth. "But I'm going to get snacks…if not for you, then for _me_. Does Miss Steele approve of that, at least?"

She's a fucking handful, but I refuse to let her compromise her safety by getting into a car with someone who's intentions are even worse than mine. I just want to assure that she gets to where she's going, _safely_.

"Fine," she groans. Eventually, she shifts side to side like a petulant child all the way back to the car.

"Don't you have to use the restroom?"

"No," she says immediately.

I shrug my shoulders. "Fine. I'll be back."

Thankfully, the only way to her bag is with the key in my pocket. I don't expect she'd go very far without her belongings for the next couple of weeks.

* * *

"What's wrong?" I say two hours into our drive.

"I've gotta pee," she murmurs, brandishing her bottom row of teeth in embarrassment. I gaze at her with narrowed eyes.

"I asked you two hours ago if you had to use the restroom."

"I didn't have to go _two hours ago_. I have to go _now_ ," she snaps back.

I sigh. "Fine. We're coming up on a major intersection shortly."

I look across the median at the heavy traffic headed north.

"It looks like some strawberry festival's going on there," Miss Steele says.

I start looking for signs. "A _strawberry festival_? In California?" I chuckle.

"So?" she counters. "What's wrong with that?"

"Why not grapes?"

"They do grow berries here, you know," she teases.

"I know that. But a _festival_?"

She laughs.

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

Low and behold, we find ourselves distracted once again during our journey as we traverse the grounds of the Glenn County Strawberry Festival. We walk side by side in harmony as if we didn't just blow up at each other hours ago.

We watch as a troop of women of all ages in an assortment of pretty white dresses and their hairs all in buns dancing a jig, while an ensemble of fiddlers provides the music. It's fascinating.

I end up buying a jar of strawberry jam before stopping at the burrito stand. Thankfully, Mr. Grey lets me pay for my own meal this time.

I'm enjoying my time with this person, this captivating stranger who certainly doesn't feel like a stranger anymore. Heck, we even had our first argument hours ago.

But what's _really_ sad is that I can't remember a time where it was just Ethan and I walking together at a park or some outdoor event, talking. If we were someplace like a concert or a festival, we'd always bring a posse with us.

This moment right here, right now with Christian feels… _authentic_?

We reach the area of the fair where rows of vendors peddle their creations in their individual booths. There's fascinating art work and sculptures as far as the eye can see. But what captivates me the most are the booths featuring handmade jewelry.

"Sorry, I have to take this call really quick," Christian says, exceedingly apologetic.

"Sure," I say, putting him at ease. "I'll be right here."

He walks away, and I get lost browsing the stunning turquoise accessories in a certain booth. Rings, necklaces, hair barrettes, bracelets…you name it. There's one item in particular that I can't seem to put down, no matter what other pieces may catch my eye.

 _One hundred dollars?_ – I sigh to myself. _Talk about 'sticker shock'._ I keep looking, but I don't have the heart to put the bracelet back down quite yet.

" _Ana_?"

I am thrown off when I hear a male's voice call out my name close by, not long after Christian had trailed off in the opposite direction. I look up from the beautiful bracelet in my hand to the person standing behind the counter.

"Ana Steele?" he says.

He's a young guy around my age.

 _Holy fucking shit…_

" _Bobby_?" I gasp. "Bobby Fisher?" He beams and nods.

Oh, fuck me…he hasn't changed; not one bit. He's still just as cute and dorky as he was back when he finished middle school.

"Goodness, we're both in California right now. And so far from Montesano. How are you?" he smiles brightly. He shocks me when he comes around the counter with outstretched arms. I hug him back. "It's _so good_ to see you," he murmurs directly in my ear.

We hug for a little too long, it seems. Eventually, we pull apart.

"Hey…" I beam like a maniac, "…you're… _here_!" I have no other words to say, making a complete fool out of myself.

Of course, I'd bump into my middle school crush at some random ass fair in _BFE_ , California. That's just the luck of my life right now.

"Yeah", he smiles back. "I'm here helping my mom sell her jewelry in her booth."

I gasp, "Holy crap, your mom made all of these?" I say, scanning the gorgeous items out on display.

"Yep," he says proudly. "So, what brings you here? Are you still in Washington, or did you move?"

"I was just in the neighborhood. I'm on my way to visit a friend at the beach. Carmel Beach, to be exact."

"That's so cool," he grins. "Are you done with college, yet?"

"Yep, just graduated from WSUV."

"Really? That's so cool," he raves. "Since graduating a couple years ago, I've been teaching high school gym in Tacoma."

"Really," I gape at him. "That's great."

"Yeah. As you can guess, summers are pretty much free for me. So, I decided to hang out with my mom, traveling all around with her jewelry and doing these kinds of festivals."

"All of this looks _amazing_. You mother's so talented," I gush.

"She just stepped away to use the restroom. She'll be back shortly. By the way, she hasn't changed very much since you last saw her in middle school."

"Wow," I sigh at the fond memory of her.

"And you certainly haven't changed," he says in a much lower voice. "Well, except you're even more beautiful than you were back then – which seems humanly impossible."

I clear my throat, feeling beyond awkward. I'm honored by the sweet complement, but I'm a little taken aback by it.

"I'm serious," he says insistently, immediately catching wind of my dubiousness. "After all these years, I still regret taking Trish Spencer to the eight-grade dance. Believe it or not, I wanted to take _you_ , but I was afraid that you wouldn't say _yes_."

I gape at him as all of these thoughts begin to run wild in my mind.

 _Damn, why wasn't he brave enough to ask me out?_

 _Who knows, maybe I could've avoided the likes of Tyler Monroe and Ethan Kavanagh if Bobby took me to his eight-grade dance that fateful night instead of Trish._

 _Oh well…woulda, coulda, shoulda._

"So, who did you come here with?" he says with a sweet smirk. "Your boyfriend?"

Bobby's bluntness takes me aback once more, but before I can respond, I feel an arm firmly wrapping around my waist.

 _Holy shit._

I glance up at the drop-dead gorgeous billionaire who has me wrapped around his arm tighter than a piece of string tied to a finger.

"Hey, baby," he says, planting a kiss directly on my cheek as Bobby gapes in total surprise.

My first thought wasn't – _What the hell is he doing?!_ No, it was – _Sweet Lord…he just called me 'baby' and kissed me!_ I feel so weak in the knees right now, that I nearly forget that Bobby's standing right in front of us.

"Oh, Bobby…this is Christian," I introduce, trying my very best to kill the awkward vibe. "Christian, this is my good friend Bobby from middle school back in Montesano."

Bobby quietly extends his hand as if it were by reflex, but his expression doesn't match the gesture. He's still shaken by the sudden possessiveness of my… _hell_ …I don't even know who Grey is to me at the moment.

My… _driver?_

Christian accepts his handshake, but I catch his less-than-amused scowl.

 _Holy hell, Grey. What gives?_

Christian then turns his complete attention to me and what's in my hand.

"What's that?" he asks, taking the item from me anyhow. Before I can respond, he's removing the clasp and placing the bracelet on my wrist. I'm speechless.

"It's a beautiful piece," Christian assesses the item on my arm. He then turns to Bobby. "We'll take it." I gape at him.

 _We_?

" _S_ …sure," Bobby says, all frazzled as he makes way back behind the counter. As soon as he's there, his mother surfaces and meets her son at the register. She looks exactly the same as she did when she was volunteering to serve up snacks at her son's basketball games.

I look up at Christian utterly flabbergasted as he guides my waist towards the area for payment. He quickly takes out his wallet. "How much?" he asks Bobby. Right away, Mrs. Fisher and I lock eyes. She gapes at me.

"It's ninety," Bobby kindly responds. He then turns to his mother. "Hey mom, you remember Ana from middle school, don't you?"

She gasps. "Yes! Oh my gosh!" Immediately, she rounds the counter and we embrace just like two long lost friends. Mrs. Fisher has always been so sweet and kind to me.

 _Too bad her son had to blow it by being a coward way back when._

Mrs. Fisher and I step away as Christian handles his unnecessary purchase transaction with Bobby. I have no doubt that it was a bonehead move on Grey's part.

I don't know why men are like this. It's not like he actually _wants_ me. I'm just some girl that he felt sorry for at some random ass café in Weed, California. Perhaps he brought a souvenir from that same town and decided to finally _light it up_ while taking his phone call a moment ago. That's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with after he returns and suddenly squeezes my ribcage with his massive arm, and plants a wet kiss on my face.

I'm getting woozy just thinking about it.

Mrs. Fisher holds me at arm's length and appraises me from head to toe. "Aren't you gorgeous! Oh, my goodness!" She hugs me again, and I chuckle in astonishment. This time when she pulls away, she rotates my wrist in her hands, surveying her own creation.

"Well, well…someone certainly picked out one of my best pieces."

"It's beautiful, Mrs. Fisher," I say in awe. Just then, Christian returns to my side and returns his arm back around my waist. _The jig's up, Grey, so you can cut the act now._ I could just roll my eyes at him, but I keep cool.

I catch Mrs. Fisher winking at him. "He's definitely a keeper because he certainly knows his jewelry."

I can't help but smile in clumsy appreciation when my eyes volley back and forth between Christian and Mrs. Fisher. It doesn't take long for him to lighten up just a little bit.

"You know, the design of that bracelet was inspired by the very one that my father gave to my mother not long after they first met, when he began courting her."

 _Holy fuck._

Immediately, I get chills down my entire body – but I simply beam and nod at her in response. "Wow…that's certainly special. I'm honored to be wearing this."

Thankfully, Christian does nothing other than smile at the woman who's been nothing but kind to me during the three most formative years of my teenage life.

* * *

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

As Ana and I leave the booth, the asshole from middle school had the _gall_ to wish her well, yet still ask her to keep in touch with him. If she were smart, she _wouldn't_ – unless she wants to fall back into the same trap that brought her out here into these unfamiliar roads in the first fucking place.

 _I can tell by his shifty eyes that he's up to no good._

When Miss Steele and I travel far enough away from the marketplace, she stops walking and turns her body towards me.

"What was that all about?" she smirks.

"Middle school, huh?" I say, stroking my chin.

She giggles. "I had a major crush on him back then."

"Him and his silly ass _Dragon Ball Z_ hair."

Ana laughs hard, but I remain stoic. "His hair's always been like that," she gasps, barely able to contain herself.

"You're too good for that hipster," I say. "If he's any indication of your ex…"

"Bobby has dark hair. Ethan's blond," she smiles.

" _Ethan_?" I say with disdain. "Even his name sounds lackadaisical. Is he a beach bum?"

"Oh my God," she says while placing her palm over her mouth. "You _know_ him."

I laugh. "You need to make better decisions when it comes to men, Miss Steele."

Suddenly, a serious expression takes form on her sweet face. "Obviously I'm a poor judge of character. That's why I decided to steer clear of men in general. Although, it was kind of nice to run into Bobby. You know what he told me?"

"What?" I frown.

"That all this time, he wished that he took _me_ to the eight-grade dance instead of Trish Spencer."

I knew that asshole was up to no good.

"Too little, too late…don't you think?" I say, clicking my tongue.

"Oh, most definitely," she nods adamantly. "It's kinda cool though to be thought of as _attractive_ to someone. And then there's the megalomaniac stranger who waltzes in and pretends to stake his claim," she laughs. "And then he buys me jewelry," she adds, proudly brandishing the purchase on her wrist.

I reach out and place both of my hands gently on her cheeks. She freezes.

"You are drop dead gorgeous, Ana Steele. You're beautiful inside and out. If you don't see that, then you're blind."

Out of nowhere a man with a camera and a name badge appears. "I'm so sorry but I was wondering if this handsome couple would like to take a photo."

"Sure," I say without hesitation. Anastasia is taken by surprise, but she cooperates. She turns straight ahead as the guy gets into position, and I pull her right into my side.

"Smile," he sings, and then he snaps a few photos before handing over a business card to Ana that includes a web address and password.

* * *

For the second straight night, Miss Steele and I lose all track of time and prolong our journey to Carmel-by-the-Sea.

We've been conversing all day long as we leisurely stroll the fairgrounds. Our conversation ran the gamut from our families, to business, to sports. We make it back to the car and stop at a nearby restaurant for dinner before continuing our drive.

And as soon as the sun begins to set, I pull over into a nice little spot in a grassy hilltop where we have a perfect view of the sunset across the vineyard.

There we sit, in my car with the top down, taking in the fresh air and the beautiful scenery. Before we both know it, I'm reaching for her in the seat next to me, and she's placing her head flat across my chest. I kiss the crown of her head.

"I'm sorry," I chuckle. "We'll get you to that beach house. _Eventually_." She has the decency to laugh.

"I'm sure I'll get there before Brooke. At least I hope that I do."

"You will," I assure her.

She gasps, taken aback by the magnificent view straight head. "Wow."

 _My thoughts exactly._ But instead of the setting sun, I look down at her as she's wrapped tightly in my arms. Her head shifts upward, and she catches me staring at her.

"So, did you have a good time today?" I say softly. She nods, and I swear that I catch a spark of longing, the very same look I'm certain I'm giving her.

And before we both know it, our faces begin eclipsing one another until our lips meet, as the moonlight provides a blissful backdrop to what we are experiencing in the moment.

Suddenly, she pulls back. I'm thrown off.

"What about your girlfriend?" she says in a shaky whisper.

"I don't have anyone," I frown. Her shoulders immediately sag in relief, and I pull her back to me and kiss her once more.

We simply forget what is and what was, and just let go.

* * *

I don't recall exactly when we checked in to the Holiday Inn Express in Willows, California, and I don't remember when I told the attendant that I wanted a single bed and one room, but somehow it happened.

I don't even wait for door to close all the way in our room before I take Anastasia Steele into my arms and kiss her madly after shrugging off my jacket. Soon, our hands are all over each other as thirty-six hours of reserved sexual aggression bursts forth.

"I want to fuck you so bad right now, Miss Steele," I growl as my mouth attacks her throat and my hands explore the jeans covering her delectable ass.

"Oh God… _yes_ ," she gasps.

Hell fuck yes.

 _Thank God I had the foresight to grab condoms at our very first stop yesterday._

It doesn't take long for me to strip her naked, kissing every inch of her soft skin along the way before I toss her onto the bed. She giggles upon landing.

Like a surgeon prepping for operation, I make haste in pulling off my shoes and my shirt, and I retrieve the condom from my pocket before I discard my jeans and underwear. She gazes down at my cock with wide eyes.

 _You see something you like, Miss Steele?  
Don't worry, you're getting ready to receive it._

I climb into bed right at her feet, and I kiss a trail upwards – past her knee, up her thigh and to her hipbone. She writhes beneath me and I groan. I kiss her flat stomach. Her navel. The sounds that she makes only egg me on.

Soon, my mouth makes way for her breast where I give each one my special attention. I've imagined these gorgeous mammaries in my mouth since the day I first met her. I am beyond pleased to be making sensual reality with her right now.

After attacking her mouth for a good while, I decide to drop back down and ensure that she never remembers the name _Ethan_ for as long as she lives. My mouth wreaks havoc on her sex.

" _Ah_!" she cries out in sheer ecstasy.

I continue my ministrations with no mercy until she comes in my mouth, granting me with an even sweeter taste of her. Not long after that, I'm crouching over her on my knees while in between her thighs, as I position the condom over my eager erection. I look down at her and take in her want and stir it up with mine. I lower myself down until my skin touches hers.

And then slowly, I enter her.

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

I've _never_ had anyone do me like that in my entire life.

 _ **Oh. My. God.**_

Christian _completely_ blew my mind last night. I woke up the next morning, clinging to him like a spider monkey. To my surprise, he was already awake and staring at me, which caught me by surprise.

But before we decided to take turns in the shower, and later partake in the free breakfast down in the lobby, we reenacted last night – which was a beyond spectacular exchange within itself – but this time it even _better_.

 _Holy fucking cow._

Morning sex: There's nothing like it.

That man just does things to me that ignites my entire body from head to toe. It's beyond comprehension.

* * *

It's just five o'clock when we finally crawl into Sacramento. The long drive today was not as hectic. Perhaps we have last night and this morning to thank for a much more stress-free time in the madness of the rerouted California traffic.

"Ready to eat?" Christian says with a grin. I nod, smiling in return.

 _He makes me feel so giddy.  
It's almost pitiful, but it's quite welcomed._

On our way to dinner, we come across a billboard advertising a drive-in theater showing the classic film _Some Like It Hot_ , staring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

"Wow…they still have drive-ins here," I gasp in awe.

"Yep, they're still around. Not just here."

"I remember when my father used to tell me about the old drive-in theater in Aberdeen. He said that he used to take my mother and me there when I was a little, but I don't ever remember going."

Suddenly, a spark ignites in Christian's eyes as he pulls into the parking lot at the restaurant.

"I'll give you the choice. We can make the five-hour journey after dinner directly to your destination, or we can prolong our trip another night and go to the drive-in. What do you say?"

"Well," I say with a shoulder shrug, "Brooke is still three nights out. I don't mind prolonging the trip."

And plus, I'm having such a wonderful time with him. It would be sad to end our time together so soon.

"Well,drive-in movie it is," he says with a smirk, resolute.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – I Can Dream About You**

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

We arrive at the West Wind Sacramento 6 Drive-in Movie Theater. The sun hasn't yet set when we pull up to the center of our screen. From where we're parked, we can see and hear a Carlos Santana tribute band playing from center stage right by the screen to a decent-sized crowd. There are families sitting on the roofs of their cars or vans enjoying the scenery, the music, and each other.

Both Christian and I reach outside of the car and pull in our respective metal speakers that perch on the side windows. It's fairly heavy. When we turn up our speakers, we can hear what's taking place on center stage even better. It's as if we're right there with the crowd that's gathered around on foot. Christian and I turn and look at each other and smile.

"How cool!" I beam in excitement. He nods.

Just before dusk, the band clears and soon, the old-fashioned commercials with the dancing popcorn and soft drinks urging watchers to patronize the refreshment stand plays out on the screen.

Christian wraps his arm around me and I snuggle into his chest, taking in his enticing scent. When he kisses me on my forehead, it just feels so natural. So… _us_.

"Last night," I start, "I was thinking. Were you planning to have sex with me? Where did the condoms come from?"

That sexy smirk that I love takes shape on his face. "At our first fuel stop when I gave you the bottled water, that's when I got them."

I gape at him. "Seriously? We'd only just met a couple hours ago from then."

His smirk doesn't waver. "A man can dream."

"That was more than _dreaming_ ," I say, trying very hard not to roll my eyes. "Did you assume that sex with me was a foregone conclusion?"

"It was those tight little jean shorts you were wearing when we first met, along with that tank top that teased your nipples that enticed me." I gape at him in complete shock. _Really, Grey?_ "But even more than that, it was your sweet and sassy personality that turned me on. So yeah…I was more than eager to have sex with you. I thought I'd be ready just in case. Besides, you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket, right?"

I can't help but smile at his boyish charm that shines through in spite of the fact that he's _all man_.

As the movie starts to play out on the big screen, we are totally into it at first. But as soon as we start to kiss and touch each other, we are permanently distracted from the film.

I've never touched a man discretely in public before. Anyone could just walk by and see that I'm stroking Christian's impressive bulge through his jeans while he's subtly petting my sex. Although I love Marilyn and Tony, I want nothing more than to go back to the hotel and relive last night and this morning with him.

* * *

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

My raging libido makes me lose all sense of good judgment as I pull into some random ass motel located less than a mile away from the drive-in. The second the ignition shuts off, Ana's flies across the stick shift and towards me where I just catch her. We begin kissing like maniacs who are desperate for each other. Eventually, I pull away from her and she looks rather disappointed.

"Let's get a room first before we do something out here that we'll regret," I sigh.

She looks at me hungry and sincere. "I won't regret it."

"Miss Steele…aren't you the brazen one," I tease.

"Brazen? No, I'm _horny_."

I burst out laughing. "Yes, brazen because you're horny. Well, that'll make two of us if we don't get out of this car. And last I checked, getting caught by the police having sex out in public is a sure way of getting on the sexual offender registry."

She blinks and then flashes a shy smirk, remembering herself.

"You're right."

* * *

The moment we enter the motel lobby, I immediately regret it. It looks dirty and dingy, and no one's waiting at the front desk to check us in. The only sign of life in here is an old 18-inch tube television with rabbit ears and tin foil, flickering and playing some syndicated cop show at its highest, most tinny volume.

I must look like I just sucked on a lemon, because Ana is trying very hard not to laugh in my face.

"We should go elsewhere," I quietly recommend.

"The next decent hotel is twenty minutes away. We should just make due with what's here, and then head out first thing in the morning," she counters.

Finally, a lethargic, balding attendant surfaces and checks us into our room.

When we open the door to our room, it doesn't look _bad_ , but I've absolutely seen better. However, I stop caring the moment Anastasia flings her arms around my neck and pulls me down for a kiss. Things quickly heat back up, reaching the same temperature it was when we were making out at the drive-in.

Like last night, tonight was exquisite. The air was clear and crisp…obviously attributed to the state-wide stringent clean emissions act. _It nearly makes me second guess driving the Lancia for much longer until after my team at Grey House retrofits it with more standard technology._ But the temperature outside was just right. And with the top down and Miss Steele in my arms, everything was simply… _perfect_.

Suddenly, Ana steps back and gazes at me with extreme want as she begins to peel off her shirt, but something suddenly catches her eye. Out of nowhere, she does a double take and then begins screaming while trying to leap on top of me. I quickly turn to where she's gaping at and catch a cockroach scampering across the floor.

"Fuck this," I growl, enraged. "We're leaving this shithole."

In no time, we're back in the front office, and fortunately, the attendant is still sitting there.

"Is everything fine with your room?" he says, muffled by the powdered donut he just stuffed into his face.

"No, it's not," I hiss. "We just saw a _roach_ run across the room."

"Oh geez, I'm sorry," he responds, borderline sympathetic, but not enough for my liking. Still, I'm tired too tired to think or drive for another twenty minutes. I just want to lose myself in this girl and get a few hours of rest before hitting the road in the morning. Instinctively, I pull out my wallet and begin counting out five large bills.

"Look, we need a clean, half decent room without rodents or bedbugs for the next seven or eight hours. Can you manage that?"

When I slam the cash on the desk right in front of him, I catch both his eyes and Ana's grow big and wide. Everyone here knows good and goddamn well that we should just get in the car, drive for fifteen or twenty minutes, and find a decent hotel without pests and save four hundred bucks. But I'm tired and very horny.

Without further delay, the man behind the counter leaps up and runs into the backroom, and quickly resurfaces carrying a bucket of cleaning supplies along and a mop and broom.

"Sir, ma'am…I'll be back in fifteen minutes flat with the perfect room for you."

He doesn't wait for us to respond as he practically flies out the front door. Ana's doubling over in laughter, and it's contagious.

"You have no good sense whatsoever," she exhales.

"Hey, I can't help it," I say, shrugging my shoulders. "All of my common sense went out of the window the moment you started stroking my dick in the car."

I step to her and she leans into me, hugging me and still laughing at the hilarious situation that we currently find ourselves in. I kiss the top of her head.

"I can't wait to get you into a bug-free bed," I say softly. Her head lowers, but I lift up her chin to bring her eyes up to mine. "I haven't had this much fun in a very long time."

"Me too," she whispers back.

Fifteen minutes later, we're beyond amused when we enter our new room. It looks as if it doesn't belong in this motel. Sure, it's a throwback to the seventies and eighties, but it's pristine. _It even has a flat screen television._ I roll my eyes at the thought.

"How much do you want to bet that the owner of this motel stays in this room, which is probably the best room here?" I say as I plop my shoulder bag down into the chair and then lean Ana's roller bag right next to it.

"Oh, I don't doubt it one bit," she chuckles. "It's crazy how your money did all of the talking for us."

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

The moment I bring up his wealth, he clams up.

This man is such a contradiction. He's bossy and in control, yet when he's reminded of how much power he wields, he shies away from the very subject. I don't know why, but somehow, I _really_ like that about him.

He's extremely humble.

"I want to shower," he says with a straight face.

 _And there goes our hot make out session.  
_

 _Thanks for nothing, 'Mr. Roach'._

"Sure…I'll go after you."

A smirk gradually takes form across his lips.

"I was thinking you'd join me."

 _What?! I've never showered with anyone before!_  
I feel myself tensing up immediately.

He's steps up to me and starts caressing my cheek.

"Don't be shy. We've already seen each other naked," he murmurs before quickly pecking my lips. I feel myself blushing. "Are you coming with me?" he croons.

 _Oh my, I hope so._

I nod, and he smiles before kissing me on the mouth. He then turns on his heel and opens up his carry-on in the chair to retrieve his toiletry bag. I watch as he suddenly presents a condom. I playfully narrow my eyes at him.

"My lottery ticket," he says, proudly waving the square foil in the air. I laugh.

* * *

In the shower, things quickly get hot and heavy as Christian scrubs my entire body with his bare hands using his own delicious smelling body wash.

He stands behind me and I look down as he caresses the suds all over my breasts. I gasp while thinking back on the first night at the Hampton Inn in Red Bluff, when I showered alone and imagined him doing exactly this to me. I press my head back into his chest in ecstasy as he teases my nipples.

Not long afterwards, I'm dropping down to my knees and pleasing his willing erection with my mouth. But before he loses all control, he pulls away from me and makes quick work of the condom. He then stands me up, turns me around, and bends me forward so that my forehead and hands are pressed flat against the plexiglass door.

We fuck in the shower.

We fuck in bed.

I fall sound asleep.

* * *

After three days on the road, we finally make it to Carmel-by-the-Sea and Brooke's dad's beach house. The moment Christian and I enter the house, I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Impressive," he says with pursed lips and a head nod after taking in our new surroundings.

"Much better than where we were last night," I quip. I look at him, but he's not smiling. My heart sinks. "Brooke won't be here for another two days. I know you have business to attend to, but I was hoping that you could stay here with me," I plea softly. Suddenly, he takes my face gently into his hands.

"I'd love to," he says before he kisses me soundly.

* * *

Two hours after we arrive, I am laying out in the sand in a bikini and soaking up the sun just at the shoreline, while Christian handles a few work calls. Not long after we just arrived, he and I came across a couple of surfboards in the garage. I've never gone surfing before, but Brooke planned on teaching me. When I told Christian this, he started on his rant about how unsafe surfing is and how much he doesn't want me to try it. Immediately, I thought: _he's not my father_ – but, perhaps his wires got crossed when I called him _daddy_ last night in bed.

Last night… _Mm_. I get chills up and down my spine just thinking about it.

As I relax on my big blue beach towel with book in hand, I am stunned when I spot Christian surfacing with a surfboard over his shoulder. He's shirtless and wearing knee-length blue shorts.

 _Oh, really?  
He's going to surf?  
After his rant about how dangerous it was?_

I immediately close my book and focus totally on him as he walks into the ocean and positions the board before he lays flat on it. I laugh trying to fathom how this seemingly stuffy business man can go out there and _hang ten_. It's so uncharacteristic of him.

I spot a wave coming ahead, and he's already prepared. I gawk as his muscles flex and admire how his hair and body are now slick. I lick my lips. Soon, he catches the wave, springs up steadily, and he's riding it like a beast. I gape at him.

Holy shit…I wish I had my camera.  
He looks absolutely amazing out there.

* * *

*~*~* **Christian** *~*~*

In the kitchen, I'm sitting on a stool at the granite-top island as Anastasia, who's wearing an apron over her bikini, leans over my shoulder to add more pasta on my plate.

"I can't believe how delicious that was," I say in awe.

"You didn't believe I could cook, huh?" she teases as she places the glass serving bowl aside.

"I didn't say that."

"But you assumed that I couldn't."

"I never said that," I smirk. "But you never cease to amaze me, Miss Steele."

After dinner and a shower, Ana and I snuggle up on the living room sofa and watch _Singin' in the Rain_. Or more aptly, _Singin' in the Rain_ watched _us_. Once we started making out, it quickly turned into heaving petting, and heavy petting turned into sex.

 _Damn, I don't know what I'm going to do when I eventually have to leave her behind._

* * *

*~*~* **Ana** *~*~*

In the blink of an eye, Christian and I find ourselves on our last night together before he's set to take off for Salinas. I could wallow in the bitter sweetness of it all, but right now, I choose to bask in just the _sweet_.

We are kissing madly on a blanket in the sand after the sun sets, as the waves ebb and flow nearby. He lowers me down on my back and then lays on top of me. My hands begin tracing the outline of the muscles on his bare back. Soon, I'm arching towards him as he loosens the tie of my bikini top.

One thing leads to another, and soon we're both completely naked. I'm breathless watching him put on a condom in the moonlight, desperately anticipating the moment when he enters me, and I feel full. It's a feeling that is indescribable.

Soon, he's doing just that, and I moan at impact.

The awesome thing about being on a private beach is that no one can hear my cries, nor can they hear me scream as I come hard.

I will never forget this night.

 _Never._

* * *

Brooke shows up to the beach house just after two in the afternoon, and she's full of life until she sees me sulking in the rocking chair on the deck. She rushes to my side and immediately wraps me up in her arms.

I've been a complete wreck since Christian left not long after nine o'clock this morning. We made love just after sunrise, but it still didn't fill the impending loss that I would soon come head-to-head with.

After we ate the breakfast that I cooked, we kissed for a very long time. I then told him that I was worried about him driving all the way home, but then he revealed that after his meeting in Salinas, he'd head back north to San Jose, which is just an hour away. From there, his car would be transported home, while he boards his jet.

 _Of course, he's a billionaire – I thought._ I kept forgetting about that all while we were together. An unassuming young man driving an old classic convertible didn't necessarily scream ' _filthy rich_ ' to me. I didn't realize the full scope of this man's wealth until I finally accessed the internet from the office at the beach house. _Holy shit_ – I gasped once I pulled him up. Immediately, he was _everywhere_ …in photographs with dignitaries, holding a large pair of scissors in ribbon cutting ceremonies, and solo at red carpet events.

I can't believe that this man doesn't have women clamoring for him all the time in Seattle. So, in the hours in between his departure and Brooke's arrival, I've been telling myself to just think back fondly on these last five days, and to move on.

If nothing else happens this summer, I know without a doubt that I had the time of my life with Christian. There will never be another summer that will top this one. I've accomplished exactly what I set out to do – which was to totally forget about Ethan.

Unfortunately, it took falling for someone else and getting my heart ripped into two for that to happen.

 _Fuck._

' _Goodbye'_ is so hard.

Right before Christian left, there was no _"see you later"_ ; we simply kissed, and then he walked away. _Thank God my tears waited until after he drove away._

But in spite of how heartbroken I may feel at the present time, I believe my short time with him has served its purpose. He has a life in Seattle, while I'm still trying to figure out mine in Montesano. During our entire time together, Christian never brought up Seattle to me.

That's when I _really_ knew that this was truly _'goodbye'_.

* * *

Brooke hugs me on the living room sofa. The same sofa Christian and I made love on two nights ago. _I'm keeping that bit from her._

"I want to hear everything," she says to me. "Leave _nothing_ out."

I tell her everything – from the moment that we first met, to our random trip to the junk art exhibit, to our very first argument and the trip to the strawberry festival. Oh, I made certain not to forget the part where he and Bobby got into the pissing contest, but things would soon take a turn. We would park the convertible in the hills that night and partake in our first kiss.

Then we had sex – again, and again, and again…

"Sweet Jesus, Ana," Brooke gapes at me. "That's… _Wow_." Even she's unsure of what to make of all of this.

"Believe it or not, I feel much worse when he left…more… _empty_ than I felt when Ethan dumped me," I say on the verge of tears. She squeezes me in her arms.

"Maybe Christian's your soulmate."

I frown. "I don't believe in that."

"You wouldn't feel this ' _empty_ ', as you say if he didn't mean so much more to you than just five hot summer nights." She sighs. "Dammit girl, I wished your stupid phone worked and you took pictures of your journey here together."

Suddenly, I gasp.

"Wait a second…there's one."

I leap up to my feet.

"Where?" she says, wide eyed.

"Grab the laptop. I have to get something out of my purse."

Less than five minutes later, Brooke and I reconvene in the living room and she sits beside me as I type in the web address, then passcode from the card that I got at the strawberry festival. It takes no time for the high-quality photo to overtake the screen.

"Holy shit, Ana," Brooke gapes. "You two look like a couple in love."

"We took that right after he bought me this bracelet," I say, waving my arm towards her. She stills it and studies the gift.

"He bought you this?"

"Yeah, from Bobby and his mom. His mother said something kind of… _odd_. She said that this piece was inspired by the same bracelet her father gave her mother when he started courting her."

"Holy shit…if that's not serendipity, I don't know what is," Brooke gasps.

"Meeting him at that café in Weed, California was _'serendipity'_ ," I say with air quotes. "Him buying me this bracelet simply because he wanted to look like a _real man_ in front of my middle school crush? Not so much," I chuckle.

Brooke can't take her eyes off of the photo on the screen. She even takes the laptop away from me in order to get a closer look. "I don't care what you say, the two of you fell in love. He's going to reach out to you when he gets back to Washington."

I scoff. "I sincerely doubt that, Brooke."

* * *

I lie wide awake in bed three nights after Christian left, staring at the open laptop that displays the picture of us. I can't stop the tears from falling. I twirl the beautiful turquoise bracelet on my arm. Since he left, I refuse to take it off, even to shower, because _he_ got this for me.

 _I miss him._

Browsing the internet showed me the ' _multi-billionaire owner of a massive global empire'_ side of him. However, the side of him that I got to know over those past five days was worlds apart from the online persona. It's as if he left his big world to become a part of my small and subtle one.

Christian Grey is the most sweet, humble guy that I know. He never gave the impression of being that _very rich and powerful guy_.

Dammit, he's truly like Fitzwilliam Darcy.

As I stare at the laptop, all of a sudden, my Facebook alert pops up. I freeze.

 _Could it be him?_

I sit up in bed and retrieve the laptop from the bedside table. I open up my Facebook page and access the messages.

 _Ethan?_

I'm gaping at the very sight of his name.

 **Ana? Are you there?**

Fuck. I should've closed that browser.

 _How can he still message me when we're no longer Facebook friends?_

 **Yes, I'm here**

 _What's wrong with you, Steele?  
Why are you even talking to him?_

 **I've been trying to call you for the past few days.  
Can I call you now?**

 _Really? What does he want?  
_

I'm curious more than anything.

 **My cell's not working at the moment**

 **Can we do an online voice chat?**

 **Sure**

I don't even get to breathe before the phone starts to ring through the screen. I accept the call.

"Hello?"

"Ana, _hey_ ," he says in a tone of voice that I don't think I've ever heard from him before. _Perhaps it's just how his voice sounds over the laptop versus in person and on the cell._ "Where are you?"

"I'm at Brooke's beach house," I tell him. "Are you still in San Diego?"

"No, I'm in Seattle with Kate. I was hoping I could see you."

I'm gaping at the screen in shock as if it were Ethan's very face.

"I've been thinking about how much fun you and I had last summer, and how so far, this summer doesn't even compare. I _really_ miss you, Ana. I wish that we could start all over again."

Part of me is shocked, while a greater part of me feels absolutely nothing. In my heart of hearts, I've already moved on. I'm sulking over someone else and I'm not in the right frame of mind to even entertain the idea of getting back with Ethan.

I gave Ethan so much shit for moving on so quickly, yet here I am – head over heels in love with someone else; over a man who I just met five days ago. In just those five days, I was able to develop a deeper connection with Christian than I ever had with Ethan in almost two years.

In those two years Ethan, it was him, me, Kate, José, Brooke…and everyone else.

In those five days with Christian, it was just him and I.

Looking back, Ethan was more like a brother than a lover. Hell, the very idea of me being heartbroken over Ethan nearly repulses me.

"Ana? Are you still there?"

"I'm here," I sigh. "What about Bianca?"

He sighs even louder than me. "That was a joke. She's so immature, Ana. I totally understand now why you were so hard on me. You demanded that I grow up and finally become an adult. I wasn't ready to hear that. Over the last week, it finally sunk in. I'm going to be the guy that you need me to be, Ana. You'll see."

I hide my face in my hands. I'm confused. I'm frustrated. Why are all these guys coming back out of the woodwork all of a sudden when there's only _one_ that my heart's currently set on?

"Bianca isn't even on your level," he continues on his _now-ex_ , I assume. "She doesn't even know the difference between a literal statement and a metaphor. I can't even joke with her, Ana. She's _nothing_ like you."

 _So why did you break up with me in the first place, Ethan?_ – I think to myself. I find it hard to believe that he broke up with me, only to seek the qualities that he liked in me in someone else.

"You know what, Ethan?" I speak up. "Our breakup was a wakeup call for me. It took us being apart for me to realize that in reality, we are just two _really good friends_ who are in two completely different places in our lives right now."

"Ana, don't say that. You know that's not true," he says in a pitiful tone of voice.

"But it _is_ true. We've never done anything together, just the two of us."

"And that's my fault. You know me – I've always said, _'The more, the merrier'_. This time, it's going to be different. You're done with school now, and hopefully you'll reconsider moving to Seattle, so that we can start over."

I sigh. He's not listening to a single word that I'm saying.

"Look, you don't have to answer right away," he says too quickly. "I know you're still upset about the breakup. I'm going to give you the space you need to figure it all out, but just know that I'm not giving up on us. Kate's going to reach out and try to convince you to make the move to Seattle with us. Hey, and if it makes you feel better, I won't move into the apartment with you and Kate. I just want you in the same city as me, Ana. I want you back. I _need_ you back."

My emotions are in overdrive. In a sick way, I'm thrilled that Ethan has managed to fall on his face. He finally understands how I felt when he left me. Now, he's groveling for me to take him back, but I'm torn more than ever. I'm actually reconsidering the move to Seattle, but not because of Ethan.

My heart is set on reuniting with Christian Grey.

Even though I can't imagine my life without Ethan, I never want to string him along. I love him…as a _friend_. He always knew how to make me laugh. With that said, I'd never entertain the thought of letting him back in, no matter how much he's willing to fix what he's broken. Still, I can't tell him that my heart is closed off to him for good, especially if I'm thinking about moving to Seattle.

"Look, I'll think about it…okay?" I finally respond.

"Good," he sighs in relief.

* * *

The next few weeks in Carmel-by-the-Sea were good, but they didn't come close to my time with Christian.

Every day, I wake up hoping that he'd reach out to me in some way or form. He has Brooke's phone number, but he hasn't even managed to call or text. Although I feel ripped apart, I rest assured knowing that those five days meant something to him, too.

I met the man of my dreams right when I was feeling down on my luck. An exchange like that doesn't just happen. Brooke was preaching to me about serendipity weeks ago, and I brushed her off. But as I've had time to reflect back on those days with Christian, I believe in it now more than ever.

Even if he and I never see each other again, I trust that we've made our mark on each other and can move forward in life without any regrets. We were together for only a moment in time. If that's all we get, I need to accept that and move on. I trust that Christian will live a happy and full life. Maybe he'll meet someone in Seattle, someone older than me and who's more on his level. Someone who makes him happy, even if that person isn't me.

 _Shit, it hurts just thinking about it._

Still, I can't help but smile at the thought of him being content no matter what the situations is. If nothing else, I hope to stop by his office in downtown Seattle one day and thank him personally for changing my life for the better. Then, I'd simply wish him the very best in his future before I ride off into the sunset.

In reality, the only thing I want more than that is to jump back into his convertible and ride off into the sunset with him.

* * *

Before Brooke and I leave the beach house for good and head to the airport, I ask my good friend to wait for me out in the car. I step into Brooke's father's office and open up the laptop. I then launch my email account and flatten out the sheet of paper where I jotted down an email address. I type it into the recipient field when I'm done composing the note.

 **From: Anastasia Steele  
Subject: California Dreamin'  
Date: July 1, 2011 15:17  
To: Christian Grey**

 **Dear Christian,**

 **I was just on my way to the airport to head home, and I wanted to thank you once again for bringing me safely to Carmel Beach. I'm so grateful to have met you.**

 **I hope all is well in Seattle.**

 **I've attached a photo that reminds me of very happy times at random strawberry festivals as well as junk art exhibits, drive-in movies, creepy cockroaches, and beautiful sunsets.**

 **Thank you for the best summer ever.**

 **Love always,**

 **Ana**

* * *

The short plane ride seemingly took forever, and the cab ride home to Montesano was just as bad. It's way past dark as my soul longs for the sun, the sand, and him.

 _I'll probably never see him again._

My heart's breaking just thinking about checking my email after entering the house, only to see that he hasn't even responded. I try…I try so hard to shake this dull ache in my chest, but it's useless.

The driver finally pulls in front of the house, and I don't bother to stretch my neck to see if Ray's car is in the driveway. I pay the driver, store my wallet back in my purse, and exit the taxi. As the driver comes around to retrieve my bag from the trunk, I finally look straight ahead and see a familiar classic convertible parked in the drive way.

And there he is, leaning up against his car and smiling at me.

 _This can't be real._

I do a double take.

"Christian?" I gape at the shadow.

He leans away from the car, stands straight, and walks towards me.

"I hope you didn't plan on never seeing me again," he says with a boyish grin.

With tearful laughter, I run up to him, I jump up, and I wrap my arms around him. His strong arms claim my waist and he holds me tight as he kisses my cheek.

 _Oh my God…he's here.  
_

 _He's_ _ **really**_ _, here._

"Fuck the lottery," he says, looking down at me. "I truly landed a gold mine when I met you."

Before either he or I can utter another word, I seal _his_ words with a kiss.


	9. 8 Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast

_**Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast.**_

 ** _A/N: Christian and Ana meet at summer camp. Fluff and Humor._**

* * *

 _Teenage love._

What is that they say?

It never lasts.

That you're too young to understand the meaning of what love really is? Or it'll end up fading as you grow and go separate ways?

Well, that might be true for some, but for me… Let's just say that some hot summer nights turned into an everlasting forever for two young souls who instantly connected and desperately needed one another.

* * *

 **10 years ago…**

Camp Whatchamacallit.

Also known to me as _Camp Hell._

This _wonderful_ place, where I was told I'd have the ' _time of my life_ ', is nestled in some creepy woods probably haunted by Bloody Mary and Freddy Krueger. It's also infested with bugs! Millions of bugs. Ones that suck your skin and are bigger than your hand.

Okay, so maybe I'm over exaggerating.

 _But I'm not._

Because an eight-legged freak big enough to eat me whole runs past me at lightning speed. I drop my bag as I yelp and jump ten feet in the air at the creature.

Large hands grab me around the waist, startling me more and turning my yelp into a high-pitched screech.

A deep baritone laugh echoes in my ears through the sound of my erratic heartbeat. My head twists to the person holding me tightly and laughing at my misery. I'm memorized right away by gray eyes and copper hair which seems to shine and redden in the summer sun, it makes you want to run your hands through it.

He's _insanely_ hot.

He's _definitely_ better looking than any guy in my class.

It's too bad the face of Adonis is laughing at me.

"You can't tell me you're scared of an itty-bitty spider." He mocks, still cracking up.

"There was nothing itty bitty about that _thing."_ I point out in the direction of where the fuzzy eight-legged monster went scurrying along. "And stop laughing at me."

He shakes his head, causing his hair to swoop into his eyes. "How in the world do you expect to survive out here for the summer if you're terrified of a _little_ spider?"

I bite my lip, not wanting to get into a huge debate on the actual size of the nasty pest. My heart continues to thump loudly as I notice his hands are still holding onto my waist. "You can let me go now," I mumble, and he gives me a wicked cocky grin, keeping his hands on me.

If it wasn't for the tingles his touch was sending through my body, I would have smacked them away by now.

 _Oh, and it helps that he's hot._

"Well, I don't know if I should. I have a feeling the next step you take, you'd be right back in my arms _because_ there are insects _everywhere."_

"Well, aren't you some white knight." I roll my eyes and finally push his hands off my hips.

"Hmm. White knight. Now that's a first." The corner of his lips twitch, "I can dig it. But you didn't answer me. How are you going to survive a summer in the woods?"

"Bug spray. Lots and lots of bug spray." I shrug, actually having no clue to how I'm going to survive this.

 _It definitely wasn't my idea or choice to come here._

He lets out another boisterous laugh and I quickly realize I don't even know his name yet.

"I'm Ana, by the way..."

"Christian. Now, how about I lead you to your cabin just in case there's an army of ants or attacking ninja squirrels along the way." He bends down and grabs my bag that I dropped and swings it over his shoulder.

"I'm not going to live this down, am I?"

"Probably not. But I'll keep it between you and me and the spider." He laughs.

After Christian helps me to my cabin where I'm bunking with five other girls, he tells me he will see me later.

I can't believe the first person I meet in this infested camp was first of all, smokin' hot, but actually _nice._

Two of the girls who had already arrived when I showed up with him jumped on me with a hundred questions of who he was and wanting to know how I found him. I refused to tell them he saved my life from a hungry brain eating spider, so I lie and say he caught me from falling on my ass. It seems to appease them, and I end up hitting it off with Kate and Morgan. They're much like me and not super stoked about having to spend their summer in the woods.

* * *

Lunchtime rolls around, and were ushered down to the chow hall for food. I grab my tray and get in line for whatever the lunch special might be today. Kate and Morgan are talking up a storm beside me when a familiar pair of hands go around my shoulder.

"How you holding up? Used up all the bug spray yet?" He whispers, so only I hear him. My cheeks instantly heat up and I nudge him away. But I can't contain my laughter.

 _Okay, so maybe I did_ _overreact_ _._

"Shut up."

"I'm just kidding." He gives me a bright smile and grabs a slice of garlic bread from the top of the silver shelf and places it on my tray, then grabs another for himself.

My eyebrows knit as I look at him curiously wondering why he's putting food onto my plate. "Um, I didn't want that…" I murmur.

"You sure? Garlic keeps away all kinds of things- mosquitos, horse flies, vampires."

"You're just full of jokes aren't you?"

"I try." He winks.

"But really, how are you holding up?" He asks, this time sticking a fruit bowl on our trays.

"I'm okay. It'll take some getting used to. Never been a fan of the great outdoors." My words tamper off when he places a bowl of spaghetti on my tray, "why are you serving me?"

He twists his lips and his eyes rack up and down my body. I suddenly feel self-conscience. I lost a lot of weight after my mom divorced Ray and remarried a total creep three months later. My whole life was flipped upside down. The stress of moving away from the only home I knew and the guy my mom married constantly made me uneasy, my appetite vanished and so did the pounds.

"Just helping…" He simply says and I know he's lying, but I don't press it.

For one I don't even know him really and two the food does actually look good.

I'm not even sure the last time I felt that way about any meal.

Maybe camp really is what I needed.

"Thanks."

"Anytime, beautiful…" And with that, he walks off with his tray of food leaving me bewildered and my body melted in a pile of goo.

I somehow make to my table and my gooey body slides into my seat. My cheeks are still on fire from his compliment. When my eyes peer up, Kate and Morgan are smiling wildly at me, ready to fire their questions at me.

"Holy hell, he likes you. Like wants in your pants likes you." Morgan giggles and I shake my head at her.

"I doubt that." I wave them off. He's just being nice, there's no way a boy like him would ever like someone like me. He's the kind of guy who would only date cheerleaders.

"You're kidding, right? He. Likes. You. I mean…" Kate's eyes darts to the other side of the room where Christian is sitting with his bunkmates. I glance over as well, and my eyes meet Christian's and he gives me a dashing smile. "He hasn't stopped looking at you since you sat down. Girl, you have some magic power to smitten a boy on day one. I bow down to you…"

My head spins back to Kate and I plaster on a weak smile. "You're over exaggerating"

"I'm not. Girl, you're hot. Stop denying it. Plus, I know boys. They're my specialty. And that one right there." She says a little louder than I want her to. "He wants you," Kate says, pointing her fork in my direction.

I laugh it off and agree to disagree.

* * *

Later that night, the camp is doing its first campfire. A way that everyone can get to know each other. We're free to walk around to mingle and roast marshmallows. The other girls from my cabin had arrived after lunch. They're nice enough but I don't see myself growing really close to them. I'm looking around the fire and I'm disappointed when I don't see Christian anywhere.

"Looking for lover boy?" Morgan nudges me.

"Nooo?" It comes out more like question than a statement. Since lunch, I haven't seen him because we were busy with going through all the activities camp has to offer and testing them all out for sign up tomorrow.

"Liar."

I wave her off and make my way to the marshmallows. I haven't roasted one over a campfire in ages. It's something I used to do with Ray all the time when I was little.

Though we would do it in the backyard because even when I was young I didn't like camping. I miss him. He might have been my step dad but he's really my dad. My mom and him had a nasty divorce and since he wasn't my real dad he had no rights to me and my mom has refused to let me see him. We talk, but it's not the same.

As I'm placing my marshmallow on my stick there's a tap on my shoulder. I swing around and come face to face with a tall blond with hazel eyes. He's cute but has nothing on Christian. "You're Ana, right?" He asks, and I nod my head.

He gives me a warm smile and thrust a folded paper into my hand. "What's this?"

"Christian wanted me to give it to you." I take the note from his hand and open it up. I laugh as I read the simple note.

" _Come_ _meet me in the woods. I'll have John lead you just in case you need to be protected from any itty bitty spiders."_

"Jerk..." I mutter under my breath with a giggle.

Yep, _never_ _living_ _it down._

John leads me to the woods, it's dark and _scary._ I swear the boogeyman is seconds from jumping out on me with a chainsaw.

 _Why the hell did Christian want me to meet him out here?_

 _We could be by the fire, roasting marshmallows, eating s'mores, surrounded by the other campers… but no._

 _He wanted to meet me out in the woods where there are bugs, tall trees and a chance where I can trip and fall since I'm not the most coordinated person around._

After about a three-minute walk, John tells me to proceed forward _on my own._ I swear, they're trying to get me _killed_!

I give him a nod and walk forward, not dare looking back because I know I'd seriously run back towards where the campfire is happening. But I'm going to have to trust Christian on this, and see why he's having me go through the woods to see him!

As soon as I approach a more open area, I see a little fire set up, and Christian sitting with his back turned to me.

 _God, he looks so good, even from behind._

I admire him for a bit, and he's fidgeting in his seat. _I wonder why?_ And I'm wondering if he's thinking that I wouldn't show up, so I decide to play a _joke on_ _him_ and make him sit there for a while longer, waiting on me.

After two minutes, I'm still watching Christian and he's now gripping at his hair, muttering under his breath. I can't hear exactly what he's saying, but he's definitely saying something.

I decide that it's time to show up because Christian might become bald by all the pulling he's doing to his hair.

As I'm walking towards the small fire he created, my foot gets caught and I fall straight to the ground, "oh my god!" I scream and try to get up, but there are dry leaves beneath me, and sticks poking my hands.

"Ana?" He questions in a panic. "Are you okay? Oh my god!" Christian runs towards me and I tell him that I'm okay and not to worry. But now he's in front of me and picking me off of the ground.

"Clumsy, aren't you?" He smirks, and I elbow him. "So not only do I have to protect you from bugs but from your two left feet, too? My, my, Ana…"

"I'm not the most coordinated person in the world…" I feel my cheeks get warm, and I try to get rid of the dry leaves that are stuck to my clothes. "Thanks, _my_ White Knight! But bugs don't creep me out _that_ much _anymore_." I say playfully, but I know that I'm lying, and I'm sure he does too.

"Sure," he says laughing, "you can't get over the fear of bugs that quick." He smirks. "Anyways, how long have you been here?" He asks as he helps me take the leaves off my sweater. "I'm glad you're wearing jeans and a sweater because you could have seriously gotten hurt." He says concerned.

"I'm okay." I murmur and I'm finally dry leaf free! "I was here for a little… just admiring the _view._ "

"Come on, let's go to the fire I made for us." He puts his hand out for me to grab, and I grab it.

As soon as we approach the fire, I notice that he set up a tray that has ingredients to make s'mores, and I can't help but smile at how sweet he is.

"I know we're supposed to be with the rest of the campers, but I wanted to get to know you… just us two." He says nervously, and I give his hand a light squeeze.

"This is cute, Christian. Thank you." I say and take a seat on the log.

"I have stuff for s'mores or if you don't like s'mores, we could just roast marshmallows, or if you don't like any of this I can get us something else…" he trails off and I silence him with my finger.

"I love this, Christian. Really. You didn't have to do this for me. We could have gotten to know each other around everyone else." I turn to look at him, and I can't help but get lost in his gray eyes.

"Well, I'm glad you love it." He says with a big smile on his face, as he stared back at me.

We've been gazing at each other for so long, he looks away and clears his throat. "Let's make s'mores!" He says in an instant, and takes a marshmallow, stabbing it through the stick and we start to roast them.

"What's your favorite color?" I ask.

It got a little _weird_ after our staring contest, so I want to try and lighten the mood.

"Blue." He answers as he takes a bite into his. "This is so good, by the way. Take a bite of yours." He says and as I do, chocolate oozes out and I catch it in my right hand.

"What's your favorite color?" He asks as he continues to eat his s'more.

"Purple," I answer, as I finish my s'more.

"You have some chocolate right there," Christian tells me and I touch around my face, not feeling any chocolate. He takes his finger and rubs right next to lip where I didn't touch, and then takes his finger in his mouth. "Mmm, so sweet. I _love_ chocolate." He says and I feel like my cheeks are brighter than the flames of this fire.

 _He just fucking rubbed chocolate off the side of my lip and licked it off of his finger._

 _Holy fuck._

 _Focus, Ana, fucking focus!_

I try to clear my rather _naughty_ thoughts as I initiate that we make more s'mores, and get to know more about each other. He tells me about his life back at home, and I tell him about mine.

I love how at ease I feel about telling him about my life and the things that I've been through. He didn't push me into telling him and he was comforting me the whole time.

After the heavy, we talked about the more light things. I learned that we have a lot in common when it comes to our lives at home, and when it comes to needing an escape from it.

He struggles a lot from high standards and being a _Grey._ His dad expects so much from him, and it makes me feel bad. He wants Christian to be a lawyer, while he just wants to own his own company.

I told him that he could be whoever he wants to be and that I'm sure his parents would be proud of him no matter what. That when they see the success he will bring, they'll be proud.

He seemed reluctant in believing me, he said he knows his parents pretty well.

I don't know how I know, but I have a feeling Christian will become successful.

By the end of the night, he walks me to my cabin, telling me that he'll see me for the next days to come. It's a little awkward because as he's saying good night to me, he seems a little hesitant or that he wanted to say or do something, but he didn't.

So, I just let it go and wish him a good night.

As I close the door of the cabin, I sigh and lean against it. I smile at the thought of spending the rest of our camp days together.

As I get ready for bed that night, I can't help the smile that sits permanently on my face. My night with Christian was incredible, so light, and... fun. I don't think I've had this much fun in how long… He really knows how to make me laugh and smile.

And I'm so glad we both have one thing in common at least…

 _We love chocolate._

 _A lot of it._

My last thoughts before going to bed is how Christian was _so_ sweet tonight, and how much I loved it.

* * *

The first week of camp has past and Christian and I have grown closer with each passing day. I'm not sure what if it's leading to _anything_ but I really like him. I feel like I've known him forever even though it's only been a week. But getting to know him has made camp bearable.

I'm actually having much more fun than I had originally thought.

We have this connection. I can't explain it. I'm sure one of my many romance novels could give me the answer, but I just feel drawn to him and it's easy to see maybe he feels the same.

He makes me feel at ease, relaxed and comfortable with who I am. It's unlike anything I've had with anyone before.

Though he does have one quirk that drives me a little nuts and it's at every meal he's always making sure to fill my tray of everything offered. I asked him what he was doing, and his reply was, "I just want to make sure you eat enough."

Tonight, we're both sitting on the edge of the dock of the lake, our legs hanging over, kicking back and forth. I can see the moon and the stars down here, not like I could back home. Back home there was always noise and light to strip the night away. Here, here I could see the milky way, could breathe in fresh, clean air and just _be_.

He nudges me, and I turn to look at him. "I thought you would like it out here." He gives me a winning smile which seems to glow in the moonlight.

"Yeah, the sounds of the frogs croaking are kind of peaceful. Do you think we'll get in trouble?" I cringe. I've never been one to get into trouble unlike the one next to me. Everyone is in bed and I waited up for Christian to come throw a couple rocks on the cabin to sneak out. If I was caught I would claim that I had to go to the bathroom and pray she went back to sleep. He took my hand the second I was out the door and we raced down to the lake. He told me at dinner he wanted to talk to me about something and I didn't hesitate to keep my eyes open this evening.

"It's a risk. But one I'm willing to take." He pushes my hair back behind my ear and it makes my heart beat faster. Just like every time he touches me.

"You wanted to talk to me?" I gulp, staring at him, his hand still on my face. Though at my question his hand drops, and he turns to look at the water. "Christian?"

He sighs, and after a beat turns to look back at me. "You know how you asked me the other day why I was always putting food on your tray?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's more than just wanting to make sure you eat. It actually goes back to my childhood. I think now it's one of those things, I can't stop. I always make sure I have food and where I can find it. It's also something I make sure with for the people I care about. Plus, you're way too skinny..."

"Hey…" I cross my arms. "Don't guys like skinny women?" I frown, embarrassed. I know I'm a little underweight, but I didn't think he would mind.

"Healthy women." He corrects. "You're still beautiful Ana. One of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen, but from what you told me this week, I know you don't mean to be _this_ skinny." he grabs my face again, "But it doesn't matter, okay. If you were always this tiny, I'll still feel the same way about you." He shakes his head and I know he was going to say more before he stops himself.

 _I want to know what he was going to say._

"Let me tell you this before I lose my nerve. I've never told anyone before expect my family."

"Christian, you don't have to."

"I know. I want to. I feel like I can tell you anything."

 _I feel the same with him._

"You can. Of course." I take his hand and I can see the worry sketched in his face.

 _Is he worried on how I will react?_

Taking a steady breath, he launches into telling me about his early childhood and how before he was adopted he would go days and days without food. Then when his mom died, he was left with her body for four days, without a thing to eat but frozen peas. My heart broke for him and I wasted no time wrapping him in my arms.

"I don't need your pity, Ana." He says harsher then maybe intended. I'm not taken aback by it. He just shed his soul to me. I know none of that could've been easy to confide in me with. But the fact that he did, after only knowing him for this short time, shows me how maybe we both needed each other to face our demons. My hand brushes down his cheek and I smile when he leans into my touch.

"It's not pity, Christian. It's called compassion. I would be a bitch if I didn't show any sign of caring after what you told me."

His face softens, "thank you, Ana. I'm sorry for being harsh with you, I just don't like talking about my past." He lightly kisses me on the cheek leaving a searing mark in its place. "You're one of the first people to know about my past without judging me so quickly." He gives me a small smile, and I give one right back, touching my tingling cheek.

"Thank you." I blush furiously at his words.

 _Damn, he's good._

"Onto lighter notes, what do you want to do when you graduate?"

"I have absolutely _no_ idea, to be honest. I don't like the fact that we're expected to choose our future's before we've even had a chance to live. That, and the fact that I don't think I'll even be able to afford to go to college, even on scholarships," I sigh and look out onto the water, where it seems the moon is dancing on the water.

"Name the school you _want_ to get into," he tells me, a wicked glint in his eye.

"Harvard," I answer immediately. "I want to make Ray proud, um, I mean my stepdad, before my mom married some complete ass. He's the only one who matters. I haven't seen him in so long because my mom won't let me, but I can remember every moment we spent together. We still talk sometimes. He was surprised I was going to camp, knowing how much I hate the outdoors. He tried to bail me out but failed."

 _Though right now, I'm loving the outdoors._

He laughs, "yeah, but you know it's not so bad. You're having fun so far."

"I am. Expect this morning, when I almost landed an arrow in our counselor's butt." I shake my head, realizing how close I was to hurting Sarah. Someone yelled snake, and I jumped with my bow and arrow set up, not knowing she went to the field to collect arrows.

Christian is still cracking up at me. Glad to know I'm filling up the "humor" file in his head for a rainy day.

 _Leave it to Annie Steele to make the hot guy think she's a clown. Maybe that should be your next job._

 _Um, have you seen clowns? Those_ _mo-fo's_ _are TERRIFYING!_

"Happy you find it so funny." I nudge him, and I can't help but join him.

"Hey, at least if she did get hurt, you would have been prepared to him."

My cheeks heat sorta mortified. I always carried around a "medical bag" since I was a kid, pretending I was a doctor and going to save lives. My mom used to watch _"Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman"_ and I wanted to be just like her- but in future time.

"I like being prepared." I shrug, "call it my control freak tendencies. I have tampons, pads, surgical scissors, bandages, gauze, _bug spray…_ you name it and I'll have it! Never know when you might need it. Today would be a good example of a potential emergency."

"I get it. I'm a bit of a control freak too. Hey, I hear tampons were first used in one of the World Wars to plug gunshot wounds, so I say you've got your head on straight with that one. I can't imagine what girls go through every month," he grimaces. "I mean, us guys get hit lightly in the nuts and we're dying! You ladies are so much stronger than the world of men gives you credit for."

"I'm sorry, did you just linken our monthly cycles to that of a gunshot victim?" I smirk.

"Sorta?" He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "Truth is, you're the kind of girl I'd want to be lost in the woods with."

"I am?" I look at him, and then back at the water. "What, for my preparedness?"

"Well, there's that… but you're also different from everyone else here."

"Um, thanks?"

"I don't mean that in a bad way. You're a cool girl, and I like you. You shouldn't care what the others think about you, not when you have my attention like you do." he moves my hair behind my ear again as I feel the heat rise to my cheeks.

"And I have been unlucky enough to gain your attention?" I quirk a brow at him.

"Hey! I _saved_ you from that so-called _monstrous_ spider on the _very_ first day, remember?"

I scoff, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really? Says the most uncoordinated girl I know, who screamed and almost fell into poison ivy a couple of days ago," he looks up to the sky and sighs. "It's really beautiful out here."

"Yeah, you can see a lot more than you can in Seattle."

"I wasn't talking about the stars, Ana." I turn to look at him, only to find him gazing at me. Heat floods through me, leaving no trace of unsinged skin on my body.

 _Holy hell. He really needs to stop looking at me like that._

"Ana…" he begins to slowly lean in as my heart rate catapults into my ears. I can hear the blood pumping and my throat tightens.

 _He's going to kiss me._

 _He wants to kiss me._

 _He. Wants. To. Kiss. Me._

The next moment plays out like a rom-com. He leans in and I stay completely immobile until the last second, where I freak out because I feel something crawl across my leg and I end up pushing him into the water below us with a screech.

" _Ana!_ " he shouts as he goes in, and then silence.

"Oh my god! Christian?" I call out into the darkness and I swear to _God_ , a freaking owl hoots back at me.

 _Yup, this is how horror movies play out. Well done, Ana. You've killed Christian and now he's going to come back as some brain-eating zombie!_

 _Well, then at least he'd eat me._

"Christian?" I call out more timidly. " _Fuck!_ "

The water ripples softly, as though a fish has come up for air for a brief moment, but there's no sign of Christian.

 _Fuck, what if you really have killed him?!_

A terrified scream leaves my throat as a wet hand wraps around my leg and pulls me forward into the murky depths of hell, and I don't stop screaming until the one thing that might have happened a minute ago, happened.

A kiss.

It was soft at first but demanding. His lips were warm and tender. His arms wrapped around my waist, and as I fall into the kiss, my legs wrapping around his waist. The kiss took on something new after that after I _felt_ him.

 _Fuck me._

 _Keep kissing him and he just might!_

"Ana," he pulls away briefly, his grey eyes wary before dipping down to his crotch.

"Oh, shush. It's a biological human reaction in any species. It feels… _good_." My fingers run through his damp hair. "I'm sorry I pushed you in."

"I'm not. You pushing me in has led to this, Anastasia Steele. And once I've had a taste of you, I'm never coming off."

I gulp at the insinuation, and my body betrays me by pressing closer against him.

"Oh, and what _sort_ of taste are we talking about, Christian Grey," I smirk at him as his mouth hangs open.

 _Yeah, not so wordy when the shoe is on the other foot now, are we, Grey?_

"My, my, Miss Steele, is that a dirty mouth I hear on you?" Our lips are mere inches apart. One more move and we'd be together again.

"Why don't you see for yourself how _dirty_ I can be?" I whisper lowly.

 _A, where the hell did_ that _come from. And B, WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING ANASTASIA STEELE!_

 _I'm thinking that I want a piece of Christian Grey. I've seen how it's done, and now I want a taste of my own._

"Hey! You're not supposed to be out here!" Someone was shining a flashlight in our general direction, demanding that we get out of the water. Without breaking apart fully- Christian helps lead me to the shore.

Once Christian and I make it to dry land, our clothes were soaked as we come face to face with the head counselors, who looks pissed. Christian tucks me under his arm and I hide my face in his chest, embarrassed that we were caught.

And disappointed that we didn't get to finish what we had started.

"You two back to your cabins. If I see you out again, I'm going to write you up. Here me?" The man who is old enough to be my father, wearing an unflattering pair of short khaki shorts sneer at us pointing towards the cabins.

"Yes, sir," Christian says.

Without another word, we walk away into the darkened night to our bunks. Christian still has his arm wrapped at me when he looks behind us.

"He's gone," he mutters.

"You sure? He could've just turned the light off, ready to pop out at any moment."

"Nah, he's gone. Old man Hank is too lazy to follow through with anything."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Years of coming here and getting into trouble." Even in the dark, I can see his cocky smirk on his face.

"Oh, so this isn't your first time being caught making out in a lake." I didn't mean for it to come out so venomously, but I suddenly had a rise of jealousy run through my veins. I can't be so stupid to think I'm the first he's done this with.

Christian stops in his tracks and takes my face in his hands. "You are the first girl I've ever done anything like this with. The first girl to grab my attention. The first girl I wanted to kiss so fucking desperately that's it's the only thing I think about." His lips are now millimeters apart from mine. His heated breath warming my face, and my arousal. "I told you before I was always finding a way to cause trouble here. I had to keep the summer interesting, but now I have you to do that for me."

He presses his lips to mine and pushes me back into a tree, his erection once again stabbing me in the belly. My hands instantly find his hair again tugging his head closer to mine, trying to suck him in. He moans against my lips and my core clenches tightly as it aches for _him._

I've never felt this way. I had always planned to save my virginity for the right person. The one who would be mine forever. But as our kiss becomes more frantic, desperate, hungry, I only wonder if I don't _need_ to wait for the one, but for someone that will maybe make it special. Rememberable.

I know it's only been a week, but there's something about this boy who has me pinned against a tree and not letting my mind think about what kind of bugs could be crawling all of me now but instead making me feel cherished and desired.

Something I've never felt before but so badly wanted.

Can I do this?

Does _he_ want this?

I feel as though that answer is poking out of his shorts and into me. I wiggle my hips wanting friction, wanting to feel more of him.

His lips break from mine, but our noses remain touching as we catch our breath. "I know somewhere we could go where we might not get caught. Because I'm not ready to stop kissing you yet."

 _Oh_ _my._

"I don't want to either but are you sure we won't get caught again."

"I hope not. Come." He grabs my hand and we race past the cabins, ducking low as we passed the windows. I can only fathom what my bunkmates are going to think when I come back tonight, or our cabin leader is going to do if she finds I've been missing half the night.

We pass the basketball courts and take the trail that leads to the pool. Helping me climb over the gate we sneak into the pool house.

* * *

It's dark when we enter but Christian manages to find a flashlight along the wall. "Last year, me and the guys used to come in here at night to drink. My old bunkmate's brother was a counselor and he used to sneak in beer for us." He tells me as we find a spot on the floor where we can sit. We lay down some foam mats and he pulls me into his arms.

"So, you were a bit of a rebel, huh?"

"You could say that…" He smirks as he threads his fingers through my hair bringing my mouth back to his lips.

Once again, we're lost in a heated embrace as our hands roam over each other's bodies.

"Be mine, Ana." he breathes against my lips.

My heart flutters at his statement. _His_. Usually, I would be put off by such a possessive comment, but at this moment, I can only think - fuck all.

I'll be his and he'll be mine.

"Yours," I whisper, and he smiles at my words.

Without saying anything else, his lips crash back to mine claiming them in an all-consuming, demanding kiss.

Fingers trace over my hip bone and move under my wet t-shirt inching closer to my covered breast. I moan down his throat, urging him to go higher and push myself into him.

 _I want him. Badly._

Taking my cue his hand grabs my breast, massaging it, and I feel my nipples harden and strain under his touch.

I'm silently wondering what his mouth would feel like around them.

His lips move off my mouth, but they don't leave my skin as they travel to the side of my neck. Daring myself I drop my hand to the hem of his soaking shorts and slide my hand underneath and grab his hard length in my hand.

He groans against me, his lips finally parting from my body. "Ana," he hisses out with his eyes closed tightly. Wickedly, I move my hand up and down his cock, feeling it swell and twitch in my palm.

His eyes shoot open, and as I stare into them, watching them as they darken lustfully with each pump of my hand. My teeth sink into my bottom lip, knowing how he feels about it.

How many times this week has he released my lip from the confines of my teeth, telling me not to bite it because what it does to him?

 _Plenty of times._

I just didn't fully understand what it _was_ I did to him, till now.

"Fuck," he moans loudly, recapturing my mouth like he's trying to suck the life at me. I can feel my arousal pool between my legs.

"Off. Take my shorts off, _now._ " He demands, and it turns me on even more.

I pull his shorts and boxers down to his legs and he finishes kicking them off, as I continue to pump my hand up and down on his hard cock.

He groans, "fuck, Ana. That feels so fucking good."

He's so fucking sexy, and I love what _my_ touch does to him.

He latches his lips on my neck, sucking lightly, possibly leaving a mark. And I don't care, I want him to mark me, I want him to own me.

Feeling bold, I kneel down right in front of his cock and look up at him. "You don't have to do this, Ana. What you just did…" he doesn't finish his sentence because I take his length into my mouth, as far as I can take him. There's a hint of saltiness at his tip and surprisingly it doesn't taste as bad as I thought it might. Although I don't think it would matter at this moment because as I look back up at him through my lashes, he's groaning, cursing, and reaching out to fist my hair in his hand.

Christian pushes my head down to where I almost inhale him. "Jesus, that mouth. How far can you take me, baby?"

I shrug my shoulders and keep bobbing my head on his dick. I cup his balls in my hand and lightly massage them. The motions are almost like instinct.

"Shit, Ana…" He lifts my head using my hair and my mouth comes off his dick with a pop. I frown wondering if I did something wrong.

 _It's not like I've done this before._

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing.. it was fucking amazing… I just don't want to come yet and the way you were sucking, baby. I was seconds away from exploding."

"Oh." my lips make a little 'o' and in the inside, I'm doing a little jig.

"Can I return the favor?"

My cheeks heat and I look down at my lap, gulping. "I... I don't know…"

"Do you trust me?"

"I do...it's just umm…I don't know."

He chuckles and moves to sit up, scooping me in his arms and pulling me down to the mat. Moving to hover over me he kisses me sweetly and looks at me with much adoration. "We don't have to do anything. I'm fine with just kissing you…"

"No, I want you Christian...all of you…"

"Then we better get you out of these clothes…"

He grabs the button of my jean shorts and I put my hand over his stopping him.

"What's wrong?" He looks at me with worry in his grey eyes.

"Just promise that this isn't a one-off. Don't hurt me. It's just I trust you, but…"

"I will never hurt you, Ana. I promise. If we don't do this, it's okay and/or stop me whenever...but just so you know you mean so much to me already."

"Like it was we were meant to find each other? If it wasn't now, it would be at some point."

 _I always believed in soul mates and I think Christian is mine._

 _Maybe I'm being young and naive but I want to live in the now. And right now, it's what I believe is real._

"I feel the same...you fell into my arms for a reason."

Soon my clothes are raked off my body and Christian tugs his shirt off over his head. Were both naked and exposed and I actually don't feel the least bit uncomfortable. Even with Christian's mouth wrapped around my nipple and his fingers rubbing along my slit.

"You're soaked, baby. And you smell so good. I wonder how you taste."

His lips trace down my belly and soon his face is buried in my core. I feel his tongue dart out of his mouth and starts to lap up my arousal. I wither around relishing in how good it feels. Maybe it's the humming noises he's making or telling me how good it tastes, or when he dips his finger inside of me, but I feel my stomach tighten and my toes curl. When he sucks on my clit, my body trembles and I cum, harder than I could ever make myself do it.

His head pops up his fingers still inside of me and I can feel myself clamp around them, sucking him in.

"Was that?"

"Uh huh." I manage to slur out.

My eyes land on his and I can make out the proud smile on his face. "Have you had one before?"

"Yeah…" He frowns and I instantly know even in my high he thinks because of someone else has. "I... I make myself…" I stutter, slightly embarrassed.

His frown quickly turns into a wide smile. "Really?" I nod. "Maybe you can show me one day… but for now, I really want to bury myself in you."

Hovering over me once again is lips attach to mine and I can taste myself on his tongue.

 _Again, a taste I wasn't expecting._

I feel his dick at my entrance and I welcome it by wrapping my legs around his waist.

Suddenly, his body freezes and he stops kissing me.

He looks _pained_.

"Christian?"

"I don't have a condom. This... this is not what I was expecting to happen tonight."

"Oh…" I pause, "I'm on the pill. Have been since I was 15… I've never missed one…"

"You sure?"

 _Am I?_

School preaches safe sex, but I really want this. More than anything I've ever wanted before.

"I mean, are you clean?"

"Yeah...I've never done _this_ …"

"Then I'm sure."

"Oh, thank god." Slowly he sinks into me and I flinch as he expands me. "You okay?" He asks stilling himself inside of me and laying soft kisses on my face.

"Yeah," I take a deep breath and relax my muscles. "You're just a lot to take in…"

"Why thank you..." He says with a cocky grin and I nudge his shoulder.

Soon I'm relaxed enough and give him the green light to keep going. Once he fills me completely, I beg for him to move.

Pants and moans fill the pool house as we make shadows on the ceiling. The smell of our arousals fills my nose. It's musky and tantalizing.

I'm in heaven.

My nails dig into his back as each of his strokes get longer and faster. His forehead is on mine as we occasionally lock lips, our bodies meshed together, making us one.

"You feel so good, Ana…" He says between breaths. "I'm never going to get enough of you. Ever."

I thrust my hips trying to match his rhythm, wanting more of him. It feels so good. I whisper his name, in a sea of ecstasy.

"Fuck, I'm gonna…" He doesn't finish the sentence as he spills into me with a loud roar.

Once he comes down from his high he kisses me and rolls over on his side, keeping me in his arms. We both lay in silence trying to catch our equilibrium.

"You didn't come again…" he mummers and kisses my temple. "I'm-"

"Don't finish that…" I say cutting him off. I came before, I'm satisfied. "I got mine and I really liked _that."_

" _Yeah?"_

"Yeah…"

"Well, we will have to figure out how to sneak around more often and next time…" he lets the rest of the words float away.

 _Hell yes!_

"This is going to be the best summer ever, Ana." He whispers before covering his mouth with mine again.

* * *

Camp is winding down and there's only a week left before everyone goes home to return to school once again. It's the moment I've been dreading since Christian and I became official. I don't want to come out of this bubble.

 _Damnit_ _, I'm happy in my bug infested wooded bubble with the man who can make my body sing._

Tonight, the camp is having a dance for everyone as a final hurrah. They decked out the chow hall with lights, flowers, and banners. Kate, Morgan, and I have spent the last three hours getting ready. Kate managed to pull up my hair into a perfect bun with a couple tendrils falling around my face. I didn't bring a dress with me, but thankfully Morgan had an extra one and since Christian has managed to feed me every chance he got, I filled the blue dress out perfectly.

 _His favorite color._

 _Even my boobs have gotten bigger._

 _I guess I could get used to the couple extra pounds._

At six, me and the girls make our way to the dance and awaiting me at the door is Christian, along with John and his other bunkmate Nelson. They're each holding a purple lily and as we greet them they hand them to us.

The six of us have hit it off and I couldn't ask for a better group of friends. I only wish we could all go to school together because I'm going to miss them all so.

"You look stunning, Ana." He whispers in my ear and places a kiss just below my lobe which makes me shiver.

My finger runs down his silver patterned tie, "you look handsome yourself." And he does in a white button shirt and a pair of grey slacks.

He bends down and kisses me. As I'm about to encircle my arms around his neck our four friends groan loudly beside us.

"Can you guys do that inside? Because I need to bust a move." John says yanking Kate inside.

Christian rolls his eyes, "we'll be there in a second." He waves them off they rush inside while Christian holds me back. I look up at him curiously wondering what's wrong.

"Why aren't we going inside?"

He scratches the back of his neck nervously and stares at the floor. "I was hoping we could talk first."

"Talk?" I gulp wondering what in the world he could want to talk about.

Especially now.

"Yeah. I promise it's okay." Taking my hand and leads me around to the patio of the chow hall which overlooks the lake.

"What is it that you needed to tell me?"

Stepping from foot to foot, he sighs heavily looking up at the night sky. "I've fallen in love with you, Ana Steele… I don't know what's going to happen when camp ends, but I don't want to lose this."

My heart catches in my throat, at a loss for words.

 _He_ loves _me_.

It's the words I've been longing to hear since I figured out that I had fallen for him, but I was too scared to say them out loud. The one letter I got from my mother after I told her about Christian told me not to give my heart away for a summer fling because my relationship wasn't going to last. The words twisted my heart, but I didn't want to believe it.

"Listen, I know it's early and we've only known each other for two months, but we've spent every day together. And honestly, it's been the best. I wanted to say it sooner, but I wanted it to be perfect. You deserve that moment…" I press my finger to his lips ending his stuttering.

"I love you too, Christian. You have become one of the most important people in my life."

His shoulders sag in relief at my words and a bright white smile crosses his face. He engulfs me into his arms and kisses me softly. "I couldn't have survived this summer without you, Ana. For as long as I live I won't forget this time I only wish it wasn't going to end."

Anxiety blooms in my belly remembering camp I'd almost over and when we part next week I have no idea when I'll see him again.

 _Our story has only started, and I don't want this to be the final chapter._

"I wish it didn't have to end either," I whisper trying to keep my tears at bay. I want to ask how we're going to make it work but I don't want to ruin this perfect moment.

Cupping my face in his hands, he stares into my eyes, telling me we'll figure it out. I nod and wrap my arms around his neck and kissing him hard, trying to absorb every ounce of him and his love so I can carry with me always.

Someone clears their throat beside us and we separate from one another. Old man Hank is standing next to us, with his arms crossed over his chest, and narrowing his eyes at us.

"I know for a fact the both of you have been talked about your PDA, now get inside before I separate you both for the rest of the night."

"Sorry, Hank…" Christian says, grabbing my hand and we go running past him, laughing the whole way back inside where we end up dancing the night away.

* * *

Leaving Christian after the summer we spent together was the hardest thing I've ever done. We promised to write and call each other every day, but I knew in my heart the long distance would probably tear us apart.

Though when I arrived home from camp it's like all the stars aligned and it was as if the spirits did truly want us together because when I got home I come to find my mom had divorced Steven and we were moving again. At first, I dreaded the thought of having to pack up again, but the second I learned where I was going to high school at, I perked up.

I waited to tell Christian, wanting to surprise him. On the first day of school, I found him in the halls and came up behind him, jumping on his back, just like I did many times over the summer.

To be honest, I was hoping he would react by getting pissed off and cursing up a storm, but our connection was as ever powerful as it was at camp and he knew it was me. He carried me over to some secluded corner of a hallway, put me down, smashing his lips to mine without saying a word.

 _God, my man is so fucking hot._

Our Summer love bloomed into the fall, to winter and spring and then back to summer again.

 _I'm so fucking glad I went_ _to camp_ _that one summer, I found love._

Once we graduated high school, we jetted off to Harvard together. We stayed in a little one bedroom apartment throughout those four years. We learned a lot about each other, fell more in love with each other, and accomplished so much together.

After we graduated from college, Christian took me out to the dock of the lake where we shared our first kiss and he got down on one knee and proposed to me. It was the sweetest thing, and I was an emotional mess because he took us to the exact place where our love first bloomed.

After I shouted 'yes' loud enough so it echoed through the woods, and the ring was secured on my finger, I pushed my fiancé into the water. I quickly jumped in after him kissing his handsome face all over.

We were married a short time later on a midsummer night in his parents' backyard with the moon reflecting off the sound and made an everlasting commitment to one another.

 _It was one of the best days of my life, aside from meeting Christian during camp._

* * *

 **Present time.**

"Now that's the story of how your mommy and daddy met and fell in love." My husband whispers into the tiny blue bundle in his arms.

Of course, I omitted the _sexy times_ part. They don't need to know about mommy and daddy's _extracurricular_ activities.

"Tell it again…" Our daughter, Phoebe, cheers excitedly from beside me in the hospital bed, her arms curled around my waist and her head resting on my chest.

She's five and full of life unlike her twin brother Teddy who is passed out asleep in the chair next to his dad. He looks so peaceful and content.

Phoebe's favorite thing is for me and Christian to tell her stories, especially ones about our love story. "Oh, I think I have a better story for you…" I tell her, pushing back her hair.

She looks up at me with her gray eyes which match her fathers.

"What is it?" She gleams.

I glance back over at my husband who at the same time looks at me curiously. I give him a wicked grin, laughter building up in my belly. "It's about the day we learned we were going to have you _and_ your brother and daddy fainted hitting his head on the ultrasound machine knocking him out cold."

"Ana…" Christian hisses. "That was supposed to stay between me and you…"

"Opps. It's not like I told her where she could see it on YouTube." I crack up.

Christian was recording us finding out we were having a baby. He was so excited to learn that was I pregnant shortly after we were married that he wanted to record every moment.

Well, when Dr. Greene said we were having twins… my husband fainted, the phone still recording and his head hit the machine and he fell to the ground. And well, Elliot got his hands on it and uploaded it to YouTube.

It made the headlines within the hour.

" _ **Billionaire CEO passes out finding out about twins. Watch it now."**_

"Ana Grey, I swear…"

"What?!" I bat my eyelashes innocently to my husband. "They're going to find out someday. Even if it's no longer on YouTube, I'm sure Elliot has a copy of it somewhere..." I shrug and Phoebe is giggling loudly making our baby boy, Mikey, stir.

Teddy, on the other hand, remains asleep in the chair not moving an inch. I swear, he can sleep through anything. "But, Phoebe… that's not even the best part of the story!" I tell her excitedly, "let me start at the beginning when I told your daddy I was pregnant while we were on our boat and with his glee, he knocked us both overboard into the sound…"

"The sound? The big water in our backyard, mommy?" Phoebe asks with the biggest toothy grin.

"Yes, baby. The sound and we weren't wearing our life jackets that time! So, Uncle Elliot and Aunt Kate had to come save us." We giggle together, and Christian joins along with us as we reminisce on that time with our little family.


	10. WINNERS ANNOUNCED

**Hi everyone!**

 **Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review these wonderful stories! After 16 days of voting, we have our WINNERS! ** Everyone's a winner to the loyal readers though, aren't they?  
Without further adeiu! **

**Tied for first place: 2,191 Days by** ** _foreverdreamingx_** **and California Dreamin' by** ** _storietella2_**

 **Second Place: Summer Beach Party by** ** _StrawberryPajamas_**

 **Third Place: Blue Collar Dom by** ** _UndercoverSquint._**

 ** _The fantastic authors and their stories!_** ****

 ** _Forbidden Fruit - KatyJane75  
Blue Collar Dom - UndercoverSquint  
Summer Beach Party - Straw Paj  
2,191 Days - foreverdreamingx  
Hot In The City - Shelly Porter-Good  
California Dreamin' - Storietella2  
Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast - DiamondChild and foreverdreaming x_**

 **Make sure you go and follow, favourite and stalk all of these fantastic women!**

 **Our question to you: What would like to see us do next? Leave your thoughts in a review for us to ponder over!**

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 **FSOG Fanfic Followers Admin Team!**


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